''Aetobatus laticeps'', the Pacific white-spotted eagle ray, is a species of
cartilaginous fish in the eagle ray family
Myliobatidae. It is found in the tropical East Pacific Ocean, ranging from
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
to northern
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, including the
Galápagos. Until 2014, it was included in the similar
spotted eagle ray (''A. narinari''), but the two differ in
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
.
[White, W.T. (2014): A revised generic arrangement for the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, with definitions for the valid genera. Zootaxa, 3860 (2): 149–166.] Following the split, ''A. narinari'' is restricted to the Atlantic, while the
Indo-Pacific is inhabited by the closely related ''
A. ocellatus''.
[White, W.T., P.R. Last, G.J.P. Naylor, K. Jensen & J.N. Caira (2010). Clarification of Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae). Pp. 141-164 in: Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J., eds. (2010). Descriptions of new sharks and rays from Borneo. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper no. 32.]
References
Aetobatus
Fish of Mexican Pacific coast
Western Central American coastal fauna
Ovoviviparous fish
Fish described in 1865
{{Chondrichthyes-stub