Aetobatus narutobiei White, Furumitsu & Yamaguchi, 2013
Naru eagle ray
photo by White et al.

Family:  Aetobatidae (Pacific eagle rays)
Max. size:  100 cm WD (male/unsexed); 150 cm WD (female); max.weight: 14 kg; max.weight: 50 kg
Environment:  benthopelagic; marine
Distribution:  Northwest Pacific: eastern Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Korea and southern Japan.
Diagnosis:  This medium to large-sized Aetobatus (reaching 150 cm DW) possess the following diagnostic characters: uniformly greenish grey to brownish dorsal surfaces, without pale spots or ocelli; long head, ventral length 27.4-31.9% DW; long to very long rostral lobe (longest in adult males) and narrow, tapering evenly to tip; single row of teeth plates, those in lower jaw chevron-shaped; width of lower tooth plate about 2.4 times its width and in about 18 series; 100-104 pectoral-fin radials (excluding propterygial radials anterior of eyes); 88-90 total vertebral centra (including synarcual); pelvic-fin radials 1 (with 2-5 fused elements) +17-18; males mature by about 80 cm DW; born at 33.4-35.2 cm DW (Ref. 94821).
Biology:  Found in shallow waters at water temperature above 15-17°C; in winter months, the species leave the shallower bays for nearby sea where water temperature is above 15°C brought by the Kuroshio current-derived warm waters (Ref. 94821).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 27 August 2019 (A2d) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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