Complete sequence and characterization of the Mobula tarapacana (Sicklefin Devilray) mitochondrial genome and its phylogenetic implications

Mitochondrial genome sequences provide excellent insight into the study of molecular phylogeny and evolution. Mobula tarapacana (Sicklefin devil ray) has an olive-green to brown colored dorsal surface and darkly colored ventral markings. Due to their grey ventral stripes, fisherman and divers sometimes mistake these species for manta rays. To avoid the misidentification during bycatch and to increase the scientific knowledge of this resource as per the SDG Target 14.A, the complete mitogenome sequence of Sicklefin devil ray was sequenced, annotated, and submitted to the GenBank (Accession: MH669414.1). The mitogenome of M. tarapacana is a closed circular dsDNA of 5, 686 bp in size, which transcribes into 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs. The percentage of protein-coding genes in the genome was 60.30%. Each protein-coding gene is initiated with an ATG codon excluding COX1 and ATP8 that begin with GTG and CCT respectively. Leu (L) and ser (S) were the most common abundant amino acids in the PCGs. The phylogenetic relationship and evolutionary distances were constructed by maximum likelihood approach using MEGA X software. The reported mitogenome was closely related to Mobula kuhlii (MKU MG10, KM364987) and Mobula eregoodootenkee (NC 025954).