''Urolophus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of round rays mostly native to the western

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

and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, though one species occurs in the Pacific waters of the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

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: 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 of all kno ...

''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 Monte Bolca is an Ypresian, Early Eocene-aged geologic site located near Verona, Italy, Verona, Italy. A ''Konservat-Lagerstätte'', it contains an extremely well-preserved and diverse marine biota, including the most diverse fish fauna of any Ce ...

, northern Italy, in deposits dating back to the late

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

stage of the

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

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 b ...

(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 form ...

, 1841 (Sepia stingray) * '' Urolophus bicuneatus'' Noetling, 1885 * '' Urolophus bucculentus'' W. J. Macleay, 1884 (Sandyback stingaree) * '' Urolophus circularis'' R. J. McKay, 1966 (Circular stingaree) * '' Urolophus cruciatus'' 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 come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

, 2003 (Chesterfield Island stingaree) * '' Urolophus expansus'' McCulloch, 1916 (Wide stingaree) * '' Urolophus flavomosaicus'' Last & 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 county 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. It is situate ...

& Last, 2006 (Kapala stingaree) * '' Urolophus lobatus'' R. J. McKay, 1966 (Lobed stingaree) * '' Urolophus mitosis'' Last & M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Mitotic stingaree) * '' Urolophus neocaledoniensis'' Séret & Last, 2003 (New Caledonian stingaree) * '' Urolophus orarius'' Last & M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Coastal stingaree) * '' Urolophus papilio'' Séret & Last, 2003 (Butterfly stingaree) * '' Urolophus paucimaculatus'' J. M. Dixon, 1969 (Sparsely-spotted stingaree) * '' Urolophus piperatus'' Séret & Last, 2003 (Coral Sea stingaree) * '' Urolophus sufflavus'' Whitley, 1929 (Yellowback stingaree) * '' Urolophus viridis'' McCulloch, 1916 (Greenback stingaree) * '' Urolophus westraliensis'' Last & M. F. Gomon, 1987 (Brown stingaree)

References

Ray genera Marine fish genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller {{Rajiformes-stub

Species

See also

References