Eastern shovelnose ray

The eastern shovelnose ray (Aptychotrema rostrata) is a species of guitarfish, family Rhinobatidae.[1]

Eastern shovelnose ray
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Chondrichthyes
Order:
Rajiformes
Family:
Rhinobatidae
Genus:
Aptychotrema
Species:
A. rostrata
Binomial name
Aptychotrema rostrata
(G. Shaw, 1794)
Synonyms

Raja rostrata Shaw, 1794
Rhinobatus banksii Müller & Henle, 1841
Rhinobatus tuberculatus Macleay, 1882

The eastern shovenose ray is endemic to subtropical and temperate waters of Australia's east coast, from off Halifax Bay (Queensland) to Merimbula (New South Wales). It typically lives on the continental shelf, inhabiting sandflats, mudflats and seagrass beds in bays, estuaries, river mouths, around rocky reefs and in surf zones to depths of about 100 m.[2]

Using microspectrophotometry, this species was shown to have three spectrally distinct cone visual pigments with wavelengths of maximum absorbance of 459, 492 and 553 nm, and rods peaking at 498 nm. This suggests this species may have colour vision - perhaps trichromatic.[3] The giant shovelnose ray (Rhinobatos typus') also had three different cone types of a similar nature and was found to be able to discriminate colour when behaviourally tested.[4]

It is used as seafood.[5]

References
  1. "Aptychotrema rostrata summary page".
  2. Dianne J. Bray, 2011, Eastern Shovelnose Ray, Aptychotrema rostrata, in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Aug 2014, http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/1836
  3. Hart, N. S.; Lisney, T. J.; Marshall, N. J.; Collin, S. P. (2004). "Multiple cone visual pigments and the potential for trichromatic colour vision in two species of elasmobranch". Journal of Experimental Biology. 207 (Pt 26): 4587–4594. doi:10.1242/jeb.01314. PMID 15579554.
  4. Van-Eyk, S. M.; Siebeck, U. E.; Champ, C. M.; Marshall, J.; Hart, N. S. (2011). "Behavioural evidence for colour vision in an elasmobranch". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 214 (24): 4186–4192. doi:10.1242/jeb.061853. PMID 22116761.
  5. East Australian Shovelnose Ray Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Seafood Portal


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