Manta hynei is an extinct species of manta ray that was extant in the Pliocene. Its fossils have been found in North America, specifically North Carolina and Virginia.[2][3] It was first described by Jim Bourdon in 1999, as a specimen dated to the Zanclean (early Pliocene). The species is known from its distinctive fossilized teeth.[4][5] Some authors have suggested, on the basis of tooth morphology, that this species should be classified in the genus Mobula instead.[3]

Manta hynei
Temporal range: Zanclean
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Mobulidae
Genus: Manta
Species:
M. hynei
Binomial name
Manta hynei
Bourdon, 1999[1]

References

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  1. ^ Bourdon, Jim (1999). "A fossil Manta from the Early Pliocene (Zanclean) of North America". Tertiary Research. 19 (3–4): 79–84.
  2. ^ Pollerspöck, J. and Straube, N. (2018). Manta hynei | Literature | Shark-References. [online] Shark-references.com. Available at: http://shark-references.com/literature/listBySpecies/Manta-hynei [Accessed 17 Mar. 2018].
  3. ^ a b ADNET, S., CAPPETTA, H., GUINOT, G. and NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA, G. (2012). Evolutionary history of the devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) from fossil and morphological inference. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(1), pp.132-159.
  4. ^ Healy, C. (2018). Manta hynei Bourdon, 1999. [online] Smithsonian Institution. Available at: https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_10103037 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].
  5. ^ Bourdon, J. (1997). Mobula, Manta, etc. — Neogene Mobulids. [online] Elasmo.com. Available at: http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=genera/cenozoic/batoids/mobulid-lc.html&menu=bin/menu_genera-alt.html [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].