A revised classification of the family Dasyatidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) based on new morphological and molecular insights Author Last, Peter R. Author Naylor, Gavin J. P. Author Manjaji-Matsumoto, B. Mabel text Zootaxa 2016 4139 3 345 368 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.2 51358935-98b0-4d89-a47f-e4341171e5b9 1175-5326 262765 DCF4220B-4A73-407C-837C-54DEAE29F435 Genus Himantura Müller & Henle, 1837 Himantura Müller & Henle, 1837:400 . Type species Raja sephen uarnak Forsskål, 1775 ; by subsequent designation ( Jordan & Evermann 1896:82). Definition . Large dasyatids (adults to 130–160 cm DW) characterised by the following: robust, suboval to rhombic disc with pectoral-fin apex broadly rounded to narrowly angular; snout broadly angular, moderately elongate (1.7– 2.8 times combined orbit and spiracle length); eye small and protruding; nasal curtain broadly skirt shaped; mouth narrow with 4–5 oral papillae (lateral papillae always present); tail very long, whip-like (length 2.5–3.7 times DW), its base narrow and oval to almost circular in cross section; pelvic fins small, almost entirely concealed by disc; dorsal fold and ventral folds absent; caudal sting close to tail base (distance from pectoral-fin insertion to caudalsting base 1.7–2.3 times interspiracular width); 1–3 mid-scapular thorns or in row on nape, no other scapular thorns; denticle band well developed with diffuse edge, skin on rest of disc with patchy denticles in adults; no row of enlarged median thorns on tail, small thorns and denticles posteriorly in adults; dorsal surface with strong colour pattern (spots, ocelli and/or reticulations); ventral surface white; posterior tail typically banded in young; marine, Indo– West Pacific. Species . H. leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008 , H. uarnak (Gmelin, 1789) , H. undulata (Bleeker, 1852) , and an undescribed species. Remarks . The genus Himantura , which was once represented widely in the Indo– West Pacific by ~20 species, is now restricted to a group of four large Indo–Pacific species with strong colour patterns. The taxonomy of this group is under review (PL & MM) and a new species exists in Australasian seas.