Taxon name
Aetomylaeus milvus
(Valenciennes, 1841)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Aetomylaeus milvus
(Valenciennes, 1841)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Valenciennes, 1841)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Aetomylaeus milvus is considered to be distinct from A. maculatus (Last et al. 2016).
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 Ocellate Eagle Ray occurs throughout UAE inshore waters. Little is known on the population of this species in UAE waters. It is taken as bycatch in trawl and gill net fisheries, and fishing effort is intense and increasing in much of the Arabian Sea region. The loss and degradation of coastal habitats in the Gulf is a significant concern for inshore species such as this. It is especially susceptible to exploitation (target and bycatch) in many largely unregulated gill net, longline and trawl fisheries that operate within its range outside and surrounding UAE waters. Some management measures are now in place in the Arabian Sea region, although domestic fisheries are likely to continue. Though data specifically from the UAE are not available, individuals in the UAE are a component of a larger, interconnected and migratory population that occurs broadly in the north-western Indian Ocean. It is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Sea region are representative of its 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 45 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 Ocellate Eagle Ray occurs throughout UAE waters. It is restricted to the Arabian Sea region from Oman to India (Gujarat), including the Arabian Gulf (Last et al. 2016). Until recently, this species was confused with the Mottled Eagle Ray (A. maculatus) and possibly the Ornate Eagle Ray (A. vespertilio). Further research is needed to confirm its full distribution.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The biology of the Ocellate Eagle Ray is poorly known, but it likely inhabits inshore areas over soft bottoms to depths of 90 m (Last et al. 2016, Weigmann 2016). This eagle ray displays aggregating behaviour. It reaches a maximum size of 123 cm disc width (DW), and males mature at 50 cm DW (R.W. Jabado pers. comm. 09/02/2017). Female maturity and size at birth are unknown. The species is suspected to have low fecundity similar to other eagle rays, which bear litters of up to four offspring (Compagno and Last 1999, Last and Stevens 2009). As there is no information on this species' maximum age and age at maturity, generation length was inferred as ~15 years based on data for the Bat Ray (Myliobatis californicus) which are reported to have a maximum age of 24 years and an age at maturity of five years (Martin and Cailliet 1988). However, it is noted that the Ocellate Eagle Ray reaches a smaller maximum size than this species.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
This species is impacted by fisheries in the UAE and forms a relatively large portion of all landed batoids. It is impacted by bycatch fisheries that are active elsewhere in its range as well. 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).
History
This is the first assessment for this species.
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.
