Spiny butterfly ray: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the spiny butterfly ray lives – recorded in 5 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Gymnura altavela
Group	Rays, skates & chimaeras
Status	Endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	5 countries
Continents	Africa, Europe, North America, South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Myliobatiformes
Family	Gymnuridae

Where does the spiny butterfly ray live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the spiny butterfly ray in 5 countries and territories across Africa, Europe, North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the spiny butterfly ray endangered?

The spiny butterfly ray’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the spiny butterfly ray?

The spiny butterfly ray (Gymnura altavela) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes and the family Gymnuridae, genus Gymnura. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the spiny butterfly ray

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.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Spiny butterfly ray (revision 1315288129), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q3824131 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).