Panray
Genus of cartilaginous fishes
The panrays are a genus, Zanobatus, of rays found in coastal parts of the warm East Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Morocco to Angola. It is the only genus in the family Zanobatidae, which is included in the Myliobatiformes order, but based on genetic evidence some authorities place it in Rhinopristiformes or a sister taxon to Rhinopristiformes.
The two species of panrays are generally poorly known and one of the species was only scientifically described in 2016. They are up to about 60 cm (2 ft) long, and brownish above with a heavily mottled, blotched or barred dark pattern. They are ovoviviparous and feed on benthic invertebrates.
01Species
There are two recognized species in the genus:
- Zanobatus maculatus Séret, 2016
- Zanobatus schoenleinii (J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841)
A fossil relative, †Plesiozanobatus Marramà et al, 2020 is known from the Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Panray”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Zanobatus schoenleinii.jpg by Johannes Müller, Public domain
- Die eocänen Selachier vom Monte Bolca (Plate II (photograph)) BHL8573513.jpg by Jaekel, Otto Max Johannes, Public domain
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