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Birth of common shovelnose rays ( Glaucostegus typus ) under captive conditions
Author(s) -
Timm Lori L.,
Carter Joshua E.,
Frey Joshua,
Prappas James,
Wells R. J. David
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.21145
Subject(s) - biology , breed , mating , zoology , fishery , ecology
The common shovelnose ray ( Glaucostegus typus ) is a poorly studied species of the Rhinobatidae family that occurs throughout the Indo‐West Pacific. Although common in aquariums throughout the United States, there are currently no records of captive birth events. In 2013, a female common shovelnose ray housed at the Downtown Aquarium in Houston, Texas, USA gave birth to eleven pups. Although all pups were stillborn, this event demonstrates that it is possible to breed common shovelnose rays in a controlled environment. The single female and two male common shovelnose rays at the aquarium are of sexually mature size (between 206 and 240 cm total length, TL), demonstrate mating behaviors, and provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the reproductive biology of this species. Captive environmental conditions of the birth enclosure may be useful in replicating the birthing event in order to develop a breeding program that could potentially relieve collection pressures on wild populations of guitarfish given their vulnerable status. Zoo Biol. 33:357–359, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.