Gymnura lessae Yokota & Carvalho, 2017

Family:  Gymnuridae (Butterfly rays)
Max. size:  60.9 cm WD (male/unsexed); 110 cm WD (female)
Environment:  demersal; marine
Distribution:  Western Atlantic: USA, from southern Massachusetts and Buzzards Bay to the Gulf of Mexico (including the Gulf Coast of the US and Mexico). And probably may be extended to the northern Caribbean Sea (Bahamas and Jamaica).
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  This demersal species lives along the coast on sandy and muddy bottoms. Reported stomach contents include fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and other invertebrates. This species is matrotophic viviparous (lipid histotrophy). Young are reported to be produced from late May through July and into August, and probably even later in the season. Pregnancy is reported to occur during the summer months (Ref. 116399).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 19 July 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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