Urolophidae
| Urolophidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Crossback stingaree (Urolophus cruciatus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Superorder: | Batoidea |
| Order: | Myliobatiformes |
| Suborder: | Myliobatoidei |
| Superfamily: | Urolophoidea |
| Family: | Urolophidae J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841 |
| Genera | |
| |
The Urolophidae are a
caudal fins, and may also have small dorsal fins
and lateral skin folds. Most are smooth-skinned, and some have ornate dorsal color patterns.
Stingarees feed on or near the
trawl fisheries
.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
The German biologists Johannes Müller and Jakob Henle created the genus Urolophus in 1837;[1] in their subsequent 1838–41 Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen, the pair created the genus Trygonoptera and also made the first reference to the urolophids as a group.[2] The family has traditionally also included the genera Urobatis and Urotrygon of the Americas; John McEachran, Katherine Dunn, and Tsutomu Miyake moved them to their own family, Urotrygonidae, in 1996.[3]
Recent
Zanobatidae. They proposed including Plesiobatis in the family Urolophidae, and classifying the family within the superfamily Urolophoidea within Myliobatiformes.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The center of
benthic fishes.[9]
Description
Stingarees are modestly sized, ranging from 30 to 80 cm (12 to 31 in) long. They have greatly enlarged
pectoral fins fused to the head, forming a disc that may be nearly circular, to oval, to rhomboid in shape. The snout is usually short and does not protrude much from the disc. The eyes are placed atop the disc and usually fairly large; immediately posterior are teardrop-shaped spiracles (auxiliary respiratory openings). There is a curtain of skin between the nostrils, formed from the fusion of the anterior nasal flaps, that reaches the mouth. There are varying numbers of papillae (nipple-like structures) on the floor of the mouth and sometimes also on the outside of the lower jaw. The teeth in both jaws are small, with rhomboid bases and blunt to pointed crowns; they are arranged with a quincunx pattern and number less than 50 rows in either jaw. The five pairs of gill slits are short and located beneath the disc.[7][8]
The
dermal denticles (except for the New Ireland stingaree, U. armatus).[10] Stingarees are generally shades of yellow, green, brown or gray above and pale below; some species are plain, while others are adorned with spots, rings, blotches, lines, or more complex patterns.[8]
Biology and ecology
Stingarees are slow swimmers that can often be found lying still on the bottom, sometimes partly or completely buried in
sparsely-spotted stingaree (U. paucimaculatus) and lobed stingaree (U. lobatus) feed mostly on different types of crustaceans.[9]
Like other myliobatiforms, stingarees have a
gestation period lasts 10–12 months and the litter size is small, no more than one or two in some cases.[7][8] The small litter is likely due to the relatively large size of stingaree pups, which measure around half the maximum size at birth.[11]
Human interactions
Though generally innocuous towards humans, when disturbed stingarees can inflict a painful wound with their stout,
fishmeal.[7][8] Stingarees caught from shallow water likely have relatively high chances of survival, but of concern is their tendency to abort any gestating young when captured and handled.[13][14]
References
- ^ Müller, J. & F.G.J. Henle (1837). "Gattungen der Haifische und Rochen nach einer von ihm mit Hrn. Henle unternommenen gemeinschaftlichen Arbeit über die Naturgeschichte der Knorpelfische". Bericht Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. 1837: 111–118.
- ^ Müller, J. & F.G.J. Henle (1838–1841). Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Veit und Comp. p. 173–174.
- ISBN 978-0-12-670950-6.
- ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
- ^ McEachran, J.D. & N. Aschliman (2004). "Phylogeny of Batoidea". In Carrier, J.C.; J.A. Musick & M.R. Heithaus (eds.). Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives. CRC Press. pp. 79–114.
- ^ a b Séret, B. & P.R. Last (2003). "Description of four new stingarees of the genus Urolophus (Batoidea: Urolophidae) from the Coral Sea, south-west Pacific". Cybium. 27 (4): 307–320.
- ^ ISBN 0-674-03411-2.
- ^ ISBN 92-5-104302-7.
- ^ .
- ^ Fowler, H.W. (1941). "Contributions to the biology of the Philippine Archipelago and adjacent regions". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 100 (13): 1–879.
- doi:10.1071/mf04225.
- ISBN 0-930118-18-9.
- .
- .