Rostral anomaly in a juvenile Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) (Elasmobranchii: Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae) from the Canary Islands

Abstract

The present communication documents the first observation of a morphologic anomaly in a juvenile Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela. This observation is remarkable for its similarity with a rostral abnormality in an adult G. altavela from the Canary Islands 10 years earlier and with the one from a juvenile Long-tailed Butterfly Ray G. poecilura from the Western Indo-Pacific. We could not find evidence that these instances present priority conservation concerns at present. However, long-term studies are required to monitor dynamic changes in such occurrences, evaluating their potential impact on the population.

Keywords

• adaption
• batoids
• canary islands
• congenital disorder
• elasmobranch
• gymnuridae
• malformation
• playa del cabrón
• sardina del norte
• temperate northern atlantic.