''Urolophus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of round rays mostly native to the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, though one species occurs in the Pacific waters of the Mexican coast. Müller and Henle erected ''Urolophus'' in an 1837 issue of ''Bericht Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin''. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''oura'', meaning "tail", and ''lophos'', meaning "crest". In ''Urolophus'', the outer rims of the nostrils are not enlarged into lobes, but may form a small knob at the back. A fossil species, ''Urolophus crassicaudatus'', has been found in Monte Bolca, northern Italy, in deposits dating back to the late

Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...

stage of the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

(49 Ma); however, Marramà ''et al.'' (2020) transferred this species to the genus '' Arechia''.

Species

There are currently 21 recognized species in this genus: * '' Urolophus aurantiacus'' J. P. Müller &

Henle Henle can refer to: * Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, a German physician, pathologist and anatomist (1809–1885) ** Loop of Henle in the kidney, named after Henle *Fritz Henle, a photographer, known as "Mr. Rollei" for his use of the 2.25" square for ...

, 1841 (Sepia stingray) * †'' Urolophus bicuneatus'' Noetling, 1885 * '' Urolophus bucculentus'' W. J. Macleay, 1884 (Sandyback stingaree) * '' Urolophus circularis''

McKay McKay, MacKay or Mackay is a Scottish / Irish surname. The last phoneme in the name is traditionally pronounced to rhyme with 'eye', but in some parts of the world this has come to rhyme with 'hey'. In Scotland, it corresponds to Clan Mackay. No ...

, 1966 (Circular stingaree) * ''

Urolophus cruciatus The crossback stingaree or banded stingaree (''Urolophus cruciatus'') is a species of stingray in the family Urolophidae. It is endemic to southeastern Australia, mainly off Victoria and Tasmania but also marginally to New South Wales and Sou ...

'' Lacepède, 1804 (Crossback stingaree) * '' Urolophus deforgesi'' Séret &

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, an ...

, 2003 (Chesterfield Island stingaree) * '' Urolophus expansus''

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...

, 1916 (Wide stingaree) * '' Urolophus flavomosaicus''

& M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Patchwork stingaree) * '' Urolophus gigas'' T. D. Scott, 1954 (Spotted stingaree) * '' Urolophus javanicus'' E. von Martens, 1864 (Java stingaree) * '' Urolophus kaianus'' Günther, 1880 (Kai stingaree) * '' Urolophus kapalensis''

Yearsley Yearsley is a small village and civil parish in the district of Hambleton in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was less than 100 at the 2011 Census. Details are included in the civil parish of Brandsby-cum-Stearsby. ...

, 2006 (Kapala stingaree) * ''

Urolophus lobatus The lobed stingaree (''Urolophus lobatus'') is a common species of Myliobatiformes, stingray in the family (biology), family Urolophidae, endemism, endemic to southern Western Australia in shallow, inshore sand and seagrass habitats. This speci ...

, 1966 (Lobed stingaree) * '' Urolophus mitosis''

& M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Mitotic stingaree) * '' Urolophus neocaledoniensis'' Séret &

, 2003 (New Caledonian stingaree) * '' Urolophus orarius''

& M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Coastal stingaree) * '' Urolophus papilio'' Séret &

, 2003 (Butterfly stingaree) * '' Urolophus paucimaculatus'' J. M. Dixon, 1969 (Sparsely-spotted stingaree) * '' Urolophus piperatus'' Séret &

, 2003 (Coral Sea stingaree) * '' Urolophus sufflavus'' Whitley, 1929 (Yellowback stingaree) * '' Urolophus viridis''

, 1916 (Greenback stingaree) * '' Urolophus westraliensis''

& M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Brown stingaree)

References

Ray genera Marine fish genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rajiformes-stub

Species

See also

References