Gymnura lessae Yokota & Carvalho, 2017
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Gymnura lessae, or Lessa's butterfly ray, is a cartilaginous fish (batoid) species of butterfly ray (Gymnura). Native to the coastlines stretching from Massachusetts, US to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. It is named after Rosângela Lessa, a prominent figure in shark and ray conservation.
Initially, G. lessae was thought to be the same species as Gymnura micrura, however and primarily because of internal morphological differences, Gymnura lessae was redescribed as a new species.
Wikipedia contributors, Gymnura lessae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:41:56.996825+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gymnura lessae Yokota & Carvalho, 2017
- Name authority
- Yokota & Carvalho, 2017
- 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 lessae Yokota & Carvalho, 2017
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 |
| spiny butterfly rayGymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) | 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 |
| 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 |
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.
- Yokota, L., & Carvalho, M. R. D. (2017). Taxonomic and morphological revision of butterfly rays of the Gymnura micrura (Bloch & Schneider 1801) species complex, with the description of two new species (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae). Zootaxa, 4332. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4332.1.1 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3HVQ2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.