spiny butterfly ray
Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Spiny butterfly ray (Gymnura altavela)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The spiny butterfly ray or giant butterfly ray (Gymnura altavela) is a species of butterfly ray, family Gymnuridae, native to the shallow coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A large ray that can measure over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) across, it may be distinguished from the sympatric smooth butterfly ray (G. micrura) by the spine at the base of its tail and by a small tentacular structure on the margin of each spiracle. Slow-reproducing and valued for its meat, in recent decades its population has experienced a decline of over 30%, and it has become Critically Endangered in certain parts of its range.
Wikipedia contributors, Spiny butterfly ray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:32:48.358882+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- spiny butterfly ray
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Myliobatiformes
- Family
- Gymnuridae
- Genus
- Gymnura
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassBatoidea
- orderMyliobatiformes
- familyGymnuridae Fowler, 1934
- genusGymnura van Hasselt, 1823
- speciesGymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gymnura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gymnura afuerae (Hildebrand, 1946) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longsnout butterfly rayGymnura crebripunctata (Peters, 1869) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Japanese butterflyrayGymnura japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura lessae Yokota & Carvalho, 2017 | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| California butterfly rayGymnura marmorata (Cooper, 1864) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura natalensis (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1911) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura poecilura (Shaw, 1804) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura tentaculata (Müller & Henle, 1841) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura bimaculata (Norman, 1925) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura crooki Fowler, 1934 | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gymnura hirundo (Lowe, 1843) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| smooth butterfly rayGymnura micrura (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | GymnuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gymmnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Pteroplatea binotata Lunel, 1879 Lunel, 1879 | synonym |
| Pteroplatea canariensis Valenciennes, 1843 Valenciennes, 1843 | synonym |
| Pteroplatea vaillantii Rochebrune, 1880 Rochebrune, 1880 | synonym |
| Raja altavela Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Pteroplatea maclura (Lesueur, 1817) (Lesueur, 1817) | synonym |
| Pteroplatea valenciennii Duméril, 1865 Duméril, 1865 | synonym |
| Dasyatis altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Dasyatis canariensis (Valenciennes, 1843) (Valenciennes, 1843) | synonym |
| Raja maclura Lesueur, 1817 Lesueur, 1817 | synonym |
| Pteroplatea altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105856 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3HVPT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.