Genetic Evidence Supports A Range Extension For The Brazilian Cownose Ray Rhinoptera Brasiliensis In The Western North Atlantic

We report 24 new records of the Brazilian cownose ray Rhinoptera brasiliensis outside its accepted geographic range. Sequencing of a 442-base pair portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene for 282 Rhinoptera samples revealed eight records off the east coast of the USA and 16 from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Both sexes of all life stages were documented in all seasons over multiple years in the Indian River and Lake Worth lagoons, Florida, indicating that their range extends further in the western North Atlantic than previously described.