Rhinobatos austini n. sp., a new species of guitarfish (Rhinopristiformes: Rhinobatidae) from the Southwestern Indian Ocean.
Zootaxa
; 4276(2): 204-214, 2017 Jun 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28610205
Rhinobatos austini sp. n. is described from the southwestern Indian Ocean based on four specimens collected from the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa and from Mozambique. The new species, with one exception, can be distinguished from all other members of this genus by a prominent teardrop-shaped dark blotch on the ventral surface of its snout. Its closest congener, R. holcorhynchus, also has a prominent teardrop-shaped blotch on its snout, but the new species differs from it by a lack of prominent thorns and tubercles on it dorsal disc surface and a very striking dorsal surface colour pattern of paired spots, some forming darker transverse bands across its back. Geographically, these two species broadly overlap, but R. austini appears to be a shallow, more coastal species (<1-107 m) compared to R. holcorhynchus that has a mostly offshore (75-254 m) depth distribution.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Skates, Fish
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Zootaxa
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: