Taxon name
Maculabatis gerrardi
(Gray, 1851)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Maculabatis gerrardi
(Gray, 1851)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Gray, 1851)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Last et al. (2016) described the genus Maculabatis, comprised of nine medium to large, marine whiprays previously placed in Himantura (including gerrardi). Reports of the species are often confused with the Coach Whipray (Himantura uarnak).
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Qualifying criteria (if given)
A2cd
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
The Whitespotted Whipray occurs throughout UAE inshore waters. Little is known on the population of this species in UAE waters, but it is taken as bycatch. It is taken as bycatch in trawl, gillnet, and longline fisheries in the Arabian Seas region and fishing pressure is intense and increasing in some areas, particularly in Iran, India and Pakistan, where batoid populations have declined. It is not known how individuals occupying UAE waters are connected with the broader population of the Arabian Seas region, though there is no information available to suggest that its population status differs in the UAE. Given the threats faced by this species in other parts of the Arabian Seas region, and ongoing threats from discarding and habitat loss in the UAE, it is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Seas are representative of the status in the UAE. Based on recorded levels of exploitation and decline in habitat quality, it is suspected to have declined by at least 50% over the past three generation lengths, or about 60 years. It is listed as Endangered A2cd.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The Whitespotted Whipray occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is moderately widespread in the Northern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans (Last et al. 2016 ). In the Arabian Sea region, it inhabits waters from the Arabian Gulf to southern India and Sri Lanka.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Whitespotted Whipray occurs inshore on soft substrates to depths of at least 60 m (Last et al. 2016). This species attains a maximum size of 116 cm disc width (DW). Males are reported to mature at 48-58 cm DW, with females maturing at 63 cm DW. Litter size is reported as 2-4 pups with size at birth at 13-21 cm DW (Last et al. 2016). As there is no information on this species' maximum age and age at maturity, generation length was inferred as ~20 years based on data for Blackspotted Whipray (Maculabatis astra) (Jacobsen and Bennett 2011). However, it is noted that the Blackspotted Whipray grows to a smaller maximum size (80 cm DW) than the Whitespotted Whipray (116 cm DW).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Information pertaining to threats specific to the UAE are unavailable. This species is impacted by bycatch fisheries that are active elsewhere in its range. Marine habitats in the Gulf are experiencing high levels of disturbance and quickly deteriorating due to major impacts from development activities (including dredging and reclamation), desalination plants, industrial activities, habitat destruction through the removal of shallow productive areas and major shipping lanes (Sheppard et al. 2010).
Publication
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
