(vertebrate zoology) The skates and rays, an order of the subclass Elasmobranchii.
Batoidea
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(bə′töid·ē·ə)
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Skates and rays, one of the two Recent orders of the subclass Elasmobranchii. The order is also known as Rajiformes. The skates and rays differ from the sharks (order Selachii) in having ventral gill slits, the edge of the pectoral fin attached to the side of the head anterior to the gill clefts, and the upper margin of the orbit not free from the eyeball (see illustration). Guitarfishes, the most generalized rays, appeared in the Upper Jurassic, but most major groups of rays date from the Cretaceous.
Atlantic stingray (Dasyatis sabina). (After G. B. Goode, Fishery Industries of the United States, 1884)
Rays have been classified in 5 suborders, 16 families, 47 genera, and 300–350 species. They occur in all oceans, and most are sluggish bottom inhabitants, although the mantas commonly swim at the surface. A few, especially stingrays and sawfishes, penetrate estuaries of tropical rivers or even live far upstream. Rays vary in size from less than 1 ft (0.3 m) in length as adults to a width of over 20 ft (6 m) in the giant mantas. There are some bizarre skates that live at depths of as much as 9000 ft (2750 m); however, none of these is luminescent. The torpedoes have a pair of enlarged electric organs located lateral to the eyes on the expansive pectoral fins; these can deliver a strong and temporarily disabling shock to bathers. More to be feared, however, are the stingrays, which lie in shallow water and if stepped on are able to inflict a dangerous or fatal wound with the serrated tail spine and its venom gland. Rays are carnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of marine worms, mollusks, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, as well as small fishes. Although rays are abundant in many seas, they are of minor commercial importance. See also Elasmobranchii.
| Wikipedia: Batoidea |
| Batoidea Fossil range: Triassic–Recent [1] |
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| Southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Superorder: | Batoidea |
| Orders | |
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Rajiformes - common rays and skates |
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Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families. They are commonly known as rays, but that term is also used specifically for batoids in the order Rajiformes, the "true rays". Batoids include stingrays, skates, electric rays, guitarfishes and sawfishes.
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Anatomy
Batoids are flat-bodied, and, like sharks, are a species of cartilaginous marine fish, meaning they have a boneless skeleton made of a tough, elastic substance. Most batoids have five ventral slot-like body openings called gill slits that lead from the gills, but the Hexatrygonidae have six.[2] Batoid gill slits lie under the pectoral fins on the underside, whereas a shark's are on the sides of the head. Most batoids have a flat, disk-like body, with the exception of the guitarfishes and sawfishes, while most sharks have a streamlined body. Many species of batoid have developed their pectoral fins into broad flat wing-like appendages. The anal fin is absent.
The eyes and spiracles are located on top of the head.
Habitat
Most species live on the sea floor, in a variety of geographical regions - many in coastal waters, few live in deep waters to at least 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), most batoids have a somewhat cosmopolitan distribution, in tropical and subtropical marine environments, temperate or cold-water species. Only a few species, like manta rays, live in the open sea, and only a few live in freshwater. Some batoids can live in brackish bays and estuaries. Bottom-dwelling batoids breathe by taking water in through the spiracles, rather than through the mouth as most fishes do, and passing it outward through the gills.
Feeding
Most batoids have developed heavy, rounded teeth for crushing the shells of bottom-dwelling species such as snails, clams, oysters, crustaceans, and some fish, depending on the species. Manta rays feed on plankton.
Classification
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The classification of batoids is currently undergoing revision. This article follows FishBase in dividing batoids into three orders. Some taxonomists argue in favour of placing all batoids in a single order, Rajiformes; others propose a division into five or six orders. The additional orders in these systems are Myliobatiformes, containing the eagle rays and their relatives; Rhinobatiformes, containing the guitarfishes (which may be further split into Rhynchobatiformes, containing the shovelnosed guitarfishes, and Rhiniformes, the sharkfin guitarfishes). The Mesozoic Sclerorhynchoidea are basal or incertae sedis; they show features of the Rajiformes but have shouts resembling those of sawfishes.
Order Rajiformes (true rays)
- Family Anacanthobatidae (smooth skates)
- Family Dasyatidae (stingrays). Named for the venomous spines along the tail; these contain a poison that causes pain and may cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, muscle cramps, tremors, paralysis, fainting, seizures, elevated heart rate, and decreased blood pressure (depending on the species). In addition, some species' toxins can be fatal to humans.
- Family Gymnuridae (butterfly rays)
- Family Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingrays)
- Family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). The largest of rays, including the giant manta rays. Most eagle rays have one poison-carrying spine.
- Family Plesiobatidae (deepwater stingrays)
- Family Potamotrygonidae (river stingrays)
- Family Rajidae (skates)
- Family Rhinobatidae (guitarfishes). They have a body structure similar that of the sawfishes, but are not thought to be closely related.
- Family Urolophidae (round rays)
Order Pristiformes (sawfishes)
Sawfishes are shark-like in form, having tails used for swimming and smaller pectoral fins than most batoids. The pectoral fins are attached above the gills as in all batoids, giving the fishes a broad-headed appearance. They have long, flat snouts with a row of tooth-like projections on either side. The snouts are up to 1.8 metres (6 ft) long, and 30 centimetres (1 ft) wide, and are used for slashing and impaling small fishes and to probe in the mud for imbedded animals. Sawfishes can enter freshwater rivers and lakes. Some species reach a total length of 6 metres (20 ft).
- Family Pristidae
Order Torpediniformes (electric rays)
Electric rays have organs in their wings that generate electric current. They are used to immobilize prey and for defense. The current is strong enough to stun humans, and the ancient Greeks and Romans used these fish to treat ailments such as headaches.[3]
- Family Narcinidae
- Family Torpedinidae
References
- ^ Stevens, J. & Last, P.R. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Elasmo-research.org
- ^ Bullock, Theodore Holmes, Hopkins, Carl D., Popper, Arthur N., and Fay, Richard R. (2005). Electroreception. Springer. pp. 5–7. ISBN 0387231927.
- Batoids: Sawfishes, Guitarfishes, Electric Rays, Skates, and Sting Rays
- www.shark-references.com: Database of bibliography of living/fossil sharks and rays (Chondrichtyes: Selachii) with more than 3.000 listed papers and a lot of downloadlinks
- J. D. McEachran, K. A. Dunn, T. Miyake (1996). "Interrelationships of the batoid fishes (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea)". In Interrelationships of Fishes, Academic Press.
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