Butterfly ray
| Butterfly rays | |
|---|---|
| Smooth butterfly ray (G. micrura) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Batomorphi |
| Order: | Myliobatiformes |
| Family: | Gymnuridae Fowler, 1934 |
| Genus: | Gymnura van Hasselt, 1823 |
| Type species | |
| Gymnura micrura Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The butterfly rays are the rays forming the genus Gymnura and the family Gymnuridae. They are found in warm oceans worldwide, and occasionally in estuaries.
The body of butterfly rays is flattened and surrounded by an extremely broad disc formed by the pectoral fins, which merge in front of the head. They have a very short, thread-like, tail. They are up to 4 m (13 ft) in width.
McEachran et al. (1996) place the butterfly rays in the subfamily Gymnurinae of the family Dasyatidae, but this article follows FishBase and ITIS in treating them as a family.