The panrays are a
genus, Zanobatus, of
rays found in coastal parts of the warm East Atlantic Ocean, ranging from
Morocco to
Angola.[1] It is the
only genus in the family Zanobatidae, which traditionally has been included in the
Myliobatiformes order, but based on genetic evidence it is now in
Rhinopristiformes[2][3] or a
sister taxon to Rhinopristiformes.[4]
The two species of panrays are generally poorly known and one of the species was only
scientifically described in 2016.[1][5] 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.[1]
Species
There are two recognized species in the genus:[1][5]
^
abcdLast; White; de Carvalho; Séret; Stehmann; Naylor, eds. (2016). Rays of the World.
CSIRO. pp. 134–136.
ISBN9780643109148.
^Naylor, G.J.P.; Caira, J.N.; Jensen, K.; Rosana, K.A.M.; Straube, N.; Lakner, C. (2012). Carrier, J.C.; Musick, J.A.; Heithaus, M.R. (eds.). Elasmobranch Phylogeny: A Mitochondrial Estimate Based on 595 Species (2 ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. pp. 31–56. {{
cite book}}: |work= ignored (
help)
^Aschliman; Nishida; Miya; Inoue; Rosana; Naylord (2012). "Body plan convergence in the evolution of skates and rays (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (1): 28–42.
doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.012.
PMID22209858.
^Last, P.R.; Séret, B.; Naylor, G.J.P. (2016). "A new species of guitarfish, Rhinobatos borneensis sp. nov. with a redefinition of the family-level classification in the order Rhinopristiformes (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea)". Zootaxa. 4117 (4): 451–475.
doi:
10.11646/zootaxa.4117.4.1.
PMID27395187.
^
abSéret, B. (2016). "Zanobatus maculatus, a new species of panray from the Gulf of Guinea, eastern central Atlantic (Elasmobranchii: Batoidea: Zanobatidae)". Zootaxa. 4161 (4): 509–522.
doi:
10.11646/zootaxa.4161.4.2.
PMID27615946.