Courtship behaviour, mating evidences and population structure of the Mobula tarapacana in a remote archipelago in the Equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ocean
Dancing with the devil: courtship behaviour, mating evidences and population structure of the Mobula tarapacana (Myliobatiformes: Mobulidae) in a remote archipelago in the Equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ocean
Sibele Alves de Mendonça, Bruno César Luz Macena, Camila Brasilino Botêlho de Araújo, Natalia Priscila Alves Bezerra, Fabio Hissa Vieira Hazin
ABSTRACT:
The present work aimed at studying the sicklefin devil ray (Mobula tarapacana) that aggregates seasonally in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA). From December 2008 to June 2016, 827 rays were sighted through free diving visual census survey. From the total of the records, it was possible to identify the sex of 361 specimens, in which 215 were females and 146 were males. The disk width ranged from 2.40 m to 3.20 m with mean size of 2.60 m, for both males and females, indicating that the population is composed by sub-adults and adults. Using photo-identification of the pectoral-fins in the ventral side, 11 males and 44 females were identified and compared with each other, but no re-sight was detected. Recent mating scars were observed in males (n= 7) and females (n= 6), as well as courtship and pursuit behaviors, confirming that the SPSPA is an important area of aggregation and mating for M. tarapacana in the Atlantic Ocean.
Neotrop. ichthyol. vol.18 no.3 Maringá 2020, DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-2020-0008