# Zonetail butterfly ray

The zonetail butterfly ray (Gymnura zonura) is a species of fish in the family Gymnuridae. It is found in Indo-Pacific waters near India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, and estuarine waters.
They have a mostly brown coloration on their dorsal side, with several small white spots throughout. Their ventral side exhibits white coloration and is entirely smooth-skinned. They can be differentiated from other Gymnuridae species by their tail, which displays 6-10 black bands along its length, separated by alternating white bands with single dark spots in between.
Zonetail butterfly rays feed on smaller organisms found on or near the sea floor such as bony fishes, crustaceans, and molluscs. They develop their offspring viviparously and can give birth to up to 4 live young per litter.

## Description

The Zonetail butterfly ray has a broad, depressed body shape and thin body size. Most of their characterizing shape is made up of a pair of wide pectoral fins (referred to as the disc). Their disc width is broader than their disc length. Their skin is smooth throughout, with the dorsal surface of the body being a uniformly brown color adorned with numerous small rounded white spots throughout. Their ventral surface is uniformly white. Zonetail butterfly rays have relatively small snouts and eyes, with their spiracles being placed slightly above the eye.
In contrast to other Gymnuridae members, the Zonetail butterfly ray lacks tentacles on the inner posterior lining of their spiracles. The Zonetail can be further distinguished from other butterfly ray species by their slim, whip-like, and relatively long tails (2/3 snout-vent length.) The tail typically has around 6-10 black bands with alternating white bands along the length, as well as the presence of a small dorsal fin attached to the base of the tail. They have been observed to present with singular dark spots between each black tail band. The caudal sting of the Zonetail butterfly ray is typically underdeveloped and also presents with a small dorsal fin at its base.
Some studies suggest the presence of sexual dimorphism within G. zonura, with the average disc width of adult males being 477 mm (18.8 in) and the disc width of adult females reaching up to 1060 mm (41.7 in) in recorded specimen, although this data is limited. Studies using morphological and mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate the Zonetail butterfly ray shares particularly close relation to the Longtail butterfly ray (G. poecilura), which can also be found distributed across the Indo-Pacific, and thus share many similar physiological and behavioral traits.

## Distribution and habitat

The Zonetail butterfly ray has been found to co-occur with other members of Gymnuridae–particularly the Longtail butterfly ray (G. poecilura) along Malaysian coasts. They are typically found inhabiting shallow coastal areas of warm temperate and tropical conditions, usually at depths of around 37 m (121.4 ft). Zonetail butterfly rays are typically bottom-dwelling, but are able to use their broad pectoral fins to traverse through the open seas. They are distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, having been observed near Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia (near the islands of Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Sumatera,) Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; Thailand; and Vietnam.

## Behavior and ecology
### Life history

Zonetail butterfly rays, similar to other butterfly rays, exhibit viviparous embryonic development. Viviparity entails initial nourishment of the offspring by yolk, and then subsequently by uterine milk (histotroph) rich in proteins and lipids up until birth. In butterfly rays, reproduction occurs via internal fertilization, where the male inserts one of their two claspers into the female cloaca to deposit sperm to the eggs. Male claspers grow and calcify with maturity, while female ovaries grow and develop ovarian follicles with maturity. Zonetail butterfly rays have been observed to spawn around 2-4 pups per litter. Females have likely evolved to grow larger than males in order to increase their reproduction potential as live bearers (both producing larger and more young), a quality that has been observed in other Elasmobranchs. There is little information on their rearing habits or duration of development, but other butterfly rays have been shown to exhibit year-round reproduction, with embryonic development lasting multiple months. Zonetail butterfly rays are thought to be able to live up to 15 years, but information on this remains understudied.

### Locomotion

In general, butterfly rays are capable of both undulatory and oscillatory swimming locomotion. They exhibit multiple derived pectoral fin developments, such as lateral expansion, anteroposterior elongation of the pectoral girdle, and pectoral stiffening from radial calcification and cross-bracing of fin rays. As a result of this, Zonetail butterfly rays can access both pelagic and benthic zones in aquatic environments, but likely prefer spending more time near the benthos as indicated by their feeding habits and dictated by their inferior mouth type. They use smaller undulations of the pectoral fins near the benthos presumably to keep the surrounding sediment undisturbed, allowing for better detection of prey through use of their ventral lateral line. They exhibit more high-speed swimming when traversing through the water column via quick, powerful downstrokes.
Beyond transportation, butterfly rays can make use of their larger pectoral fins to stun and pin prey to the floor for predation.

### Feeding habits

Zonetail butterfly rays have been found to feed primarily on bony fish, particularly anchovies and ponyfishes. Their inferior mouth type and co-occurrence with Longtail butterfly rays indicate that they may also feed on some bottom-dwelling crustaceans and molluscs, but there currently exists limited observed data on this for G. zonura. In general, Gymnuridae report with exhibiting piscivorous feeding of both meso-pelagic and benthic fish species. Their ability to swim through multiple levels of the water column likely contributes to this range in diet. Particular feeding habits of the Zonetail butterfly ray, outside of Gymnuridae family trends, remains generally understudied.

## Conservation status

As of 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Zonetail butterfly ray as an Endangered species. They are primarily threatened by overfishing from commercial fisheries (via trawling) for use of raw materials, but are of relatively low value due to their small size compared to other rays. Their meat is typically sold for both human consumption and as bait for longline fishing. Other fishing purposes including targeted artisanal and recreational activities, along with bycatch, also contribute to the overall anthropogenic threat that they face. Competition with other butterfly rays–particularly the Longtail butterfly ray–due to having similar feeding habits and overlapping distribution ranges may also play a role in their low abundance. Zonetail butterfly rays may be especially sensitive to these pressures on abundance as a result of their low fecundity as well. The sparse amount of knowledge and attention on this particular species is likely a factor in the lack of focused conservation efforts for them.