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First record of a morphological abnormality in the longtail stingray Dasyatis longa (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Ofelia Escobar-Sánchez*
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000, México
Felipe Galván-Magaña
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000, México
Caroline A. Downton-Hoffmann
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000, México
Maribel Carrera-Fernández
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000, México
Vanessa G. Alatorre-Ramírez
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000, México
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: O. Escobar-Sánchez, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), Apartado postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, CP. 23000México email: oescobar@ipn.mx
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Abstract

This is the first report of morphological abnormalities in the longtail stingray Dasyatis longa in the Gulf of California, Mexico. A young female (36.7 cm disc width) captured in a gill-net had deformed and incomplete pectoral fins, the anterior margins of which were separated from the head. The mouth was also deformed and the eyes and spiracles were situated on the lateral part of the head instead of on the dorsal surface. Some morphometric measurements are included. We conclude that the malformation of its mouth would prevent this stingray from surviving to adulthood.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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References

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