New records of whale shark (Rhincodon typus), giant manta ray (Manta birostris) and Chilean devil ray (Mobula tarapacana) for Suriname

Abstract

Little is known about elasmobranchs along the northern coast of South America. During five boat surveys in Suriname offshore waters we visually documented the presence and behaviour of the free-ranging whale shark Rhincodon typus and two mobulid rays: the giant manta ray Manta birostris and the Chilean devil ray Mobula tarapacana. Three sightings were made of R. typus at the surface in shallow coastal waters where the water depth measured 46-67 m. One of these sightings was confirmed by photographs. Manta birostris was positively identified on five occasions while at the surface, all in shallow waters of less than 57 m deep. Four additional sightings, not accompanied by photographs, were identified as Manta spp. One devil ray, photographed and identified as Mobula tarapacana, was recorded at the surface in deep waters (2491 m) in July 2012. These records of R. typus, Manta birostris and Mobula tarapacana are the first for Suriname and therefore add to the documented information of these species within the Wider Caribbean Region and contribute to the knowledge of the pelagic distribution of these species.

Lesser devil rays Mobula cf. hypostoma from Venezuela are almost twice their previously reported maximum size and may be a new sub‐species

“…Identifying the taxon of Mobula to species can be problematic because of the similarities between some Mobula species (Couturier et al, 2012;De Boer et al, 2015). This is particularly true for the smaller species of Mobula such as M. hypostoma.…”

Kinematics of swimming of the manta ray: three-dimensional analysis of open water maneuverability

“…However, Yano et al (1999) reported that mantas can swim at 2.78-4.17 m s −1 when males are chasing females during mating. In addition, mantas perform aerial leaps clearing the water (Coles, 1916;Rayner, 1986;Homma et al, 1997;Duffy and Abbott, 2003;De Boer et al, 2015). The physics of such leaps requires high-speed swimming (Rohr et al, 2002).…”

Manta and devil ray species occurrence and distribution in Venezuela, assessed through fishery landings and citizen science data

“…Including the putative manta ray species (Hinojosa-Alvarez et al, 2016), six mobulid species are reported for the western Atlantic Ocean: The oceanic manta ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum, 1792) Menni & Stehmann, 2000;Milessi & Oddone, 2003;Mendonça et al, 2012;De Boer et al, 2015;Del Moral-Flores et al, 2015;Last et al, 2016;Ehemann et al, 2018Ehemann et al, , 2019Stevens et al, 2018;Mejía-Falla & Navia, 2019;Pate & Marshall, 2020;Trujillo-Cordova et al, 2020), the Caribbean manta ray, M. cf. birostris (Walbaum, 1792) (Bucair, Venables, et al, 2021;Hinojosa-Alvarez et al, 2016;Pate & Marshall, 2020;Stevens et al, 2018), the Atlantic pygmy devil ray, Mobula hypostoma (Bancroft, 1831) (Campbell & Munroe, 1974;Cousseau & Menni, 1983;Del Moral-Flores et al, 2015Ehemann et al, 2018Ehemann et al, , 2019Jones et al, 2020;Last et al, 2016;Menni & Stehmann, 2000;Stevens et al, 2018), the spinetail devil ray Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788), Del Moral-Flores et al, 2015;Mas et al, 2015;Last et al, 2016;Ehemann et al, 2018;Stevens et al, 2018;Hauser-Davis et al, 2021), the sicklefin devil ray Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892) (Childs, 1997;De Boer et al, 2015;Del Moral-Flores et al, 2015;Ehemann et al, 2018;…”

“…Including the putative manta ray species (Hinojosa‐Alvarez et al ., 2016), six mobulid species are reported for the western Atlantic Ocean: The oceanic manta ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum, 1792) Menni & Stehmann, 2000; Milessi & Oddone, 2003; Mendonça et al ., 2012; De Boer et al ., 2015; Del Moral‐Flores et al ., 2015; Last et al ., 2016; Ehemann et al ., 2018, 2019; Stevens et al ., 2018; Mejía‐Falla & Navia, 2019; Pate & Marshall, 2020; Trujillo‐Cordova et al ., 2020), the Caribbean manta ray, M . cf.…”

“…cf. birostris (Walbaum, 1792) (Bucair, Venables, et al ., 2021; Hinojosa‐Alvarez et al ., 2016; Pate & Marshall, 2020; Stevens et al ., 2018), the Atlantic pygmy devil ray, Mobula hypostoma (Bancroft, 1831) (Campbell & Munroe, 1974; Cousseau & Menni, 1983; Del Moral‐Flores et al ., 2015, 2020; Ehemann et al ., 2018, 2019; Jones et al ., 2020; Last et al ., 2016; Menni & Stehmann, 2000; Stevens et al ., 2018), the spinetail devil ray Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788), Del Moral‐Flores et al ., 2015; Mas et al ., 2015; Last et al ., 2016; Ehemann et al ., 2018; Stevens et al ., 2018; Hauser‐Davis et al ., 2021), the sicklefin devil ray Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892) (Childs, 1997; De Boer et al ., 2015; Del Moral‐Flores et al ., 2015; Ehemann et al ., 2018; Last et al ., 2016; Stevens et al ., 2018) and the bentfin devil ray, Mobula thurstoni (Lloyd 1908) (Del Moral‐Flores et al ., 2015; Ehemann et al ., 2018; Gadig et al ., 2003; Last et al ., 2016; Mas et al ., 2015; Mendonça et al ., 2012, 2018; Stevens et al ., 2018). Nonetheless, reports are generally scarce, and species within this family are commonly misidentified because of taxonomic uncertainties (Stevens et al ., 2018; Stewart, Jaine, et al ., 2018).…”