Rhinoptera


Rhinoptera is a genus of ray commonly known as the cownose rays. This genus is the only member of the family Rhinopteridae.
These rays feed on mollusks and various other benthic prey.
Their low fecundity rate and late maturity makes them susceptible to overfishing. All species of this genus are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species.

Species

There are currently 8 recognized extant species in this genus:
ImageScientific nameDistribution
Rhinoptera adspersa J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841 Indo-West Pacific off India, Malaysia, and the East Indies.
Rhinoptera bonasus western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England to southern Brazil
Rhinoptera brasiliensis J. P. Müller, 1836 southern tip of Brazil to western Florida.
Rhinoptera javanica J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841 Indo-Pacific off China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam and possibly Australia
Rhinoptera jayakari Boulenger, 1895 from South Africa to the Philippines; north to Ryukyu Is. and south to eastern Indonesia.
Rhinoptera marginata
Rhinoptera neglecta J. D. Ogilby, 1912 Western Pacific Ocean from Queensland to New South Wales in Australia.
Rhinoptera steindachneri Evermann & O. P. Jenkins, 1891 East Pacific along the coast of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.

There are several other extinct species that only are known from fossil remains:
  • Rhinoptera prisca Woodward, 1907
  • Rhinoptera rasilis Böhm, 1926
  • Rhinoptera raeburni White, 1934
  • Rhinoptera schultzi Hiden, 1995
  • Rhinoptera sherborni White, 1926
  • Rhinoptera smithii Jordan & Beal, 1913
  • Rhinoptera studeri Agassiz, 1843
  • Rhinoptera woodwardi Agassiz, 1843