Taxonomic status, biological notes, and conservation of the longhorned pygmy devil ray Mobula eregoodoo (Cantor, 1849)

• Published in: Aquatic conservation Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 104 - 122
• Main Authors: Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe, Adnet, Sylvain, Bennett, Mike, Broadhurst, Matt K., Fernando, Daniel, Jabado, Rima W., Laglbauer, Betty J.L., Stevens, Guy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2020; Wiley
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Bycatch; coastal; Conservation; conservation evaluation; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Ekologi; Exploitation; fish; Fisheries; Fisheries management; fishing; Gillnets; Indian Ocean; latitude; Life Sciences; Marine fishes; Mobula; Mobula munkiana; Morphometry; New South Wales; ocean; Pacific Ocean; redescriptions; Species; Sustainability; Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy; Taxonomic revision; Taxonomy; Tropical climate; uncertainty; Wildlife conservation; Indian Ocean; New South Wales; Pacific Ocean
• ISSN: 1052-7613; 1099-0755; 1099-0755
• DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3230

The longhorned pygmy devil ray Mobula eregoodoo (Cantor, 1849), formerly known as Mobula eregoodootenkee (Bleeker, 1859), is a small mobulid with a disc reaching a maximum width of 1.3 m, widely ranging in tropical and subtropical latitudes across the Indian Ocean, the Indo‐Pacific region, and the western Pacific Ocean. A recently emerged opportunity to examine several (n = 47) M. eregoodoo specimens bycaught in bather protection gillnets off New South Wales, Australia, together with new information assembled from other areas of its range, now allows for a redescription of the species, which was incompletely described in the past because of a paucity of specimens. Based on the morphometric, morphological, ecological, and behavioural elements presented here, corroborated by recent genetic investigations, we argue that M. eregoodoo (Cantor, 1849) is a valid species, distinct from shorthorned pygmy devil ray Mobula kuhlii (Müller & Henle, 1841). These findings are contrary to a recent revision of Mobula, where it was assessed as a synonym of M. kuhlii. The accuracy of taxonomic assessments underpins the effectiveness of species conservation, particularly when direct exploitation or bycatch in various fisheries needs to be managed for sustainability. Failing to recognize that two similar‐looking species are distinct, such as M. eregoodoo and M. kuhlii, creates uncertainties that could result in mismanagement and underestimating local and global threats of extinction.