Taxon name
Aetobatus flagellum
(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Aetobatus flagellum
(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
This species was previously considered to be conspecific with Aetobatus narutobiei, but the species have since been shown to differ genetically and morphologically (White and Moore 2013).
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)
A2d
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore eagle ray occurs throughout UAE waters, but little is known on its population there. It may be taken as bycatch in inshore gillnet fisheries. Most of the distribution of the species in the Arabian Sea region is under extremely intense and increasing demersal fishing pressure, especially off India. Furthermore, the loss and modification of coastal habitats in the Arabian Gulf is a significant concern, especially since this species is known to rely on estuaries during part of its life history. Its relative rarity, large size, and low productivity makes this species particularly susceptible to population decline. 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. Given the intense fishing pressures faced by this species throughout the Arabian Seas, and ongoing threats from bycatch and habitat loss, it is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Seas are representative of the status in the UAE. Based on recorded levels of exploitation, 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 A2d.
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 Longhead Eagle Ray occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is patchily distributed in the Indo-West Pacific from the Arabian Sea region to Indonesia and Malaysia (Last et al. 2016).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Longhead Eagle Ray occurs primarily inshore on the inner continental shelf, and is associated with estuarine habitats (Last et al. 2016), especially where it occurs in the Arabian Gulf (Bishop et al. 2016). It attains a maximum size of 90 cm disc width (DW) with males mature at 50 cm DW and females at 75 cm DW (White and Moore 2013). Size at birth is unknown but the smallest free-swimming individual examined was 23 cm DW. Little else is known of the biology of this species. However, it is suspected to exhibit low fecundity as with other myliobatids which bear litters of up to four offspring (Compagno and Last 1999). 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 Longhead Eagle Ray reaches a smaller maximum size than this species.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Information pertaining to threats to this species in UAE waters are unavailable. Generally, the Longhead Eagle Ray is highly susceptible to a variety of inshore demersal fisheries, including trawls and gill nets. In the Arabian Sea region, it occurs in areas of intense demersal trawl activity. Marine habitats in the Arabian 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), which is likely to impact 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.
