The southernmost record and an update of the geographical range of the Atlantic chupare, Styracura schmardae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)

Abstract

The present study established the southernmost distribution range for the Chupare stingray Styracura schmardae based on a specimen caught on the easternmost portion of Ceará State, northeastern Brazil. Identification was based on diagnostic morphological characters and molecular data (sequence of the mitochondrial DNA gene nd2; 1046 bp). This record expands the known distribution range for this species by more than 1200 km and confirms that S. schmardae is distributed in more than one biogeographical province. Significance statement There are few records of the Atlantic Chupare stingray for Brazil and most of them are associated with the Amazon River mouth. New records indicate that this species is also present in the South Atlantic portion of the Brazilian coast. Apparently having a low abundance throughout its range, these new records increase the range of occurrence of this species.

Sharks and rays caught by a small‐scale fisheries in the western equatorial Atlantic

“…In addition to a relatively high number of elasmobranch species regionally, the present‐study small‐scale fishery also captured species known for their low abundance and rarity in Brazil, as for example Styracura cf . schmardae (Jucá‐Queiroz et al, 2008, Sales et al., 2020) and Odontaspis ferox (Santander‐Neto, Faria, Castro, & Burgess, 2011), or at least not common in the coastal area, as for example Rhincodon typus (Faria et al., 2009).…”