Aetobatus

Aetobatus is a genus of eagle rays native to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.^[2] It was formerly placed in Myliobatidae, but is now placed in its own family Aetobatidae based on salient differences from myliobatids, especially the pectoral fins joining the head at the level of the eyes.^[3]

Aetobatus Temporal range: 59–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Thanetian to Present[1]
Aetobatus ocellatus in Fiji
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Myliobatiformes
Family:	Aetobatidae
Genus:	Aetobatus Blainville, 1816

Species

There are currently either 3 or 5 recognized extant species in this genus depending on the status of A. narinari:

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Long-headed eagle ray[4]	Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)	Indo-West Pacific
	Pacific white-spotted eagle ray[5]	Aetobatus laticeps (T. N. Gill, 1865)	Baja California to northern Peru, including the Galápagos
	Spotted eagle ray	Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasén, 1790)	Atlantic (including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico); worldwide if A. ocellatus and A. laticeps are considered subspecies
	Naru eagle ray[6]	Aetobatus narutobiei W. T. White, Furumitsu, A. Yamaguchi, 2013	northwest Pacific off south Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam
	Ocellated eagle ray[7]	Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823)	Indo-West Pacific

There are also 6 extinct species (only known from fossil remains) placed in this genus:

• †Aetobatus arcuatus Agassiz 1843
• †Aetobatus cappettai Antunes & Balbino 2006
• †Aetobatus irregularis Agassiz 1843
• †Aetobatus punctatus Miller 1876
• †Aetobatus poeyi Fernández de Castro 1873
• †Aetobatus sinhaleyus Deraniyagala 1937

See also

• List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera