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Redescription of the Critically Endangered tentacled butterfly ray, Gymnura tentaculata (Valenciennes in Müller & Henle, 1841) (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae) from Iranian waters

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Abstract

Until recently, the tentacled butterfly ray, Gymnura tentaculata (Valenciennes in Müller & Henle, 1841), had not been seen for over three decades and had been assessed as Critically Endangered–Possibly Extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. An elasmobranch-specific monitoring program undertaken between October 2019 and July 2020 allowed the discovery of a population of the species along southern Iranian waters. This allowed for a detailed redescription of the morphology as well as generating molecular data for G. tentaculata based on material retrieved during surveys. Gymnura tentaculata is a small (to 85-cm disc width) gymnurid endemic to the northwestern Indian Ocean that can be distinguished from other Gymnura Kuhl in van Hasselt, 1823, by a combination of characteristics, including a small tentacle present on the posterior end of each spiracle, a short tail without bands, and a small dorsal fin always present at its base. Historically, the confirmed range of the species comprised coastal waters of Iran, Pakistan, and India, but it now appears limited to Iranian waters of the eastern Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Threats to this gymnurid across its current geographical range are also discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI) and its research centers in the southern coastal provinces for facilitating sample collection from traditional local shrimp trawlers and also the Ferdows-1 research trawling vessel. We warmly thank the Future For Nature Foundation, Prince Bernhard Nature Fund, and Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life in New England Aquarium, who supported the shark and ray conservation project that led us to rediscover tentacled butterfly rays in Iranian waters. We warmly thank Linnean Society of London and Systematics Association for supporting our taxonomic investigations. The first author kindly thanks Idea Wild for providing a laptop that facilitated writing this manuscript. This study could not have been completed without the helpful and timely assistance of many good friends; far too many to list individually. Nonetheless, we especially appreciate support from Mohammadamin Samiei, Najmeh Sabbah, Mohammad Rajabi, Roohollah Sharifizadeh, and Poorya Mohammadzadeh from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. We warmly thank Dr. Mehdi (Khosrow) Rajabizadeh who kindly examined the syntype specimens from MNHN. We kindly appreciate the handling editor, Dr. Peter Kyne, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. We are very grateful to Ms. Zouhaira Gabsi and Mr. Philippe Keith from MNHN Ichthyology Collection for granting access to the syntype specimens.

Funding

The taxonomic study was supported by a Systematics Research Fund grant (Linnean Society of London and Systematics Association). Field surveys to collect specimens were funded by the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund and Marine Conservation Action Fund (Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life in New England Aquarium). Idea Wild also supported the project by providing field equipment. The first author M. R-A received a Future For Nature Award 2021 for this conservation project. None of the supporters had any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qeshm Environmental Conservation Institute (QECI), P.O. Box 7951616137, Qeshm Island, Hormozgan, Iran

    Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour

  2. Elasmo Project, P.O. Box 29588, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Rima W. Jabado

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Majid Askari Hesni

  4. Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, AREEO, Tehran, Iran

    Fereidoon Owfi

  5. Department of Biology, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

    Eskandar Rastegar Pouyani

  6. Pacific Shark Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA, 95039, USA

    David A. Ebert

  7. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    David A. Ebert

  8. Department of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, 16, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA

    David A. Ebert

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  1. Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgments, if applicable. This study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. All sequence data generated for the species are available in GenBank with accession numbers ON849063 to ON849068.

Author contribution

MRA and RWJ conceived the study. MRA led and participated in all the field and laboratory work. FO participated in the fieldwork. MAH participated in the laboratory work. ERP conducted molecular analyses and contributed parts of the manuscript. MRA and DAE analyzed morphological data. MRA wrote the initial version of the manuscript. All authors revised and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Communicated by P. M. Kyne

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Rezaie-Atagholipour, M., Jabado, R.W., Askari Hesni, M. et al. Redescription of the Critically Endangered tentacled butterfly ray, Gymnura tentaculata (Valenciennes in Müller & Henle, 1841) (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae) from Iranian waters. Mar. Biodivers. 53, 6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-022-01303-2

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