Japan: In aquarium since 1997, Ghost Ray Fish declared a new specie

A Japanese aquarium that had identified a pair of rays as giant guitarfish since 1997, has now dubbed them a new previously undiscovered species. Researchers believe that the aquarium had wrongly identified the pair of rays as giant guitarfish and they have now named the new species Rhynchobatus Mononoke, because of its resemblance to Japanese folklore evil spirit Mononoke. 

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How is it different?

According to the study published in the academic journal Ichthyological Research, the new species is different from giant guitarfish because of its obtusely wedge-shaped snout, bluntly rounded dorsal fins, and a large black blotch covering the anterior half of the undersurface of the snout. The study says that the first dorsal fin originating about level with the pelvic-fin origin in the new species is not found in giant guitarfish. The outer fold on the spiracle posterior margin is more pronounced than the inner fold in the new species.

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The pair of rays have been living in the Kagoshima City Aquarium in Kyushu, Japan, since 1997, where they reside in the Kuroshio Great Water Tank, which is one of the most famous attractions in the entire park. Researchers from Kuroshio Biological Research Institute and the Kagoshima University Museum studied the fish in association with the Kagoshima City Aquarium. 

Keita Koeda of the Kuroshio Biological Research Institute noticed the existence of the rays in 2018 and since 2019, he along with his team has been conducting full-scale research. As there were only a few countable things such as scales and fins in the fish, and it was necessary to compare how this number differs from similar companions, the researchers decided to conduct an X-ray of the fish.

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However, due to a lack of facilities that can conduct X-rays of such a large fish, they asked a veterinary teacher to use a CT scanning device for cows. After comparing the data and the photos researchers were able to clarify the differences from all species, and were able to describe it as a new species.

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(Image Credit: Kuroshio Biological Research Institute/Website)