Abstract
The present communication documents the first observation of a morphologic anomaly in a juvenile Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela. This observation is interesting for its similarity with a rostral abnormality in an adult G. altavela from the Canary Islands 10 years earlier and with the one from a juvenile Long-tailed Butterfly Ray G. poecilura from the Western Indo-Pacific. Although no firm conclusions can be drawn from these records, it reinforces the hypothesis of a congenital disorder for this type of malformation within the genus. The individual appeared to have successfully adapted for its anomaly, suggesting that these instances are not of major conservation concern. Hence, long-term studies are required to monitor anomaly occurrences and to evaluate their potential threats.
Highlights
Note Rostral anomaly in a juvenile Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) (Elasmobranchii: Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae) from the Canary Islands
The first record of an anomaly in this species was described by Narváez & Osaer (2016) for an adult female observed in 2007 and 2008 in the northwest of the Island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)
The right pectoral fin was not fused to the braincase, causing an opening in the anterior part of the disc from the rostral ridge to the posterior margin of the eye and a free lobe
Summary
The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction, and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication
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