Accurate fecundity estimates are necessary for the proper assessment of fish stocks. Despite all recent investigations of the reproductive biology of Rhinoptera bonasus (Cownose Ray) indicating a maximum fecundity of 2 embryos per brood, maximum fecundity estimates of 6 per brood persist. All reports of 6 embryos per brood seem to stem from a single account. It is the purpose of this paper to present evidence indicating that the report of 6 embryos is based upon a misidentification in the field, and that maximum fecundity estimates for the Cownose Ray are therefore up to six-fold higher than actually observed.
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Southeastern Naturalist
Vol. 14 • No. 1
March 2015
Vol. 14 • No. 1
March 2015