Not yet extinct: Rhynchobatus cooki is found after being unseen for over 20 years
Naomi Clark-Shen
A F , Byrappa Venkatesh B , Christina Choy Pei Pei C , Kathy Xu D and Gavin J. P. Naylor E
A Singapore’s Shark and Ray Research Project, funded by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, 80 Mandai Lake Rd, Singapore 729826.
B Comparative Genomics Lab, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore 138673.
C National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119077.
D The Dorsal Effect Pte Ltd, 22 Sin Ming Lan, #06-76 Midview City, Singapore 573969.
E Florida Program for Shark Research, Florida Museum of Natural History, Dickinson Hall, 1659 Museum Road, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
F Corresponding author. Email: naomi.clark6@gmail.com
Pacific Conservation Biology 26(3) 308-309 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC19027
Submitted: 9 July 2019 Accepted: 4 September 2019 Published: 19 September 2019
Abstract
In May 2019 a female specimen of Rhynchobatus cooki was found at Jurong Fishery Port in Singapore. The specimen had been imported from Indonesia. The species had not been seen for over 20 years, and this discovery gives hope that Rhynchobatus cooki is not yet extinct.
References
Jabado, R. W. (2019). Wedgefishes and giant guitarfishes: a guide to species identification. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York.Kyne, P. M., Rigby, C. L. & Last, P. R. (2019). Rhynchobatus cooki. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T60181A151858712. Available at:
Last, P. R., Kyne, P. M., and Compagno, L. J. (2016). A new species of wedgefish Rhynchobatus cooki (Rhinopristiformes, Rhinidae) from the Indo-West Pacific. Zootaxa 4139, 233–247.
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