Molecular diagnosis and geographic distribution of species in the endangered whipray genus Himantura , with description of a new species from the Indo-Malay archipelago

Le résumé fourni par la source

The overfished and endangered reticulate whipray genus ( Himantura spp.) comprises up to eight genetically separate lineages that are considered distinct species: H. uarnak , H. undulata , H. leoparda , H. tutul , H. australis , and three possibly undescribed species ( Himantura spp. 1-3). Their geographic distributions so far have not been clearly determined, possibly because of persistent misidentification when using morphological criteria. To circumvent this problem, we provide diagnoses based on an updated nucleotide-sequence dataset at the CO1 locus for all seven species that have been sequenced at this locus. Species distribution maps based on genetically-validated records are presented. Notably, H. uarnak was confirmed as endemic to the Red Sea and the western part of the Indian Ocean while its sister species H. leoparda was endemic to the Indo-Malay archipelago. Two other sister-species, from the Indo-Malay-Australia region, Himantura sp. 1 and H. australis , were geographically distributed in a parapatric fashion. Himantura tutul was distributed from the Western Indian Ocean to the Sunda Shelf while H. undulata ’s range extended from the Arabian Sea to the Sunda Shelf. The present molecular taxonomic revision of the threatened genus Himantura thus clarifies the identity of the sequences in public repositories and provides new information on their distribution that will be highly relevant to their conservation. Himantura sp. 1, which is endemic to the Indo-Malay archipelago, is described as a new species.

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