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Abstract
The giant devil ray, Mobula mobular, is a member of one of the most distinct groups of cartilaginous fishes, the Mobulidae (manta and devil rays), and is the only mobulid assessed as Endangered due its restricted distribution, high bycatch mortality and suspected population decline. The complete mitochondrial genome is 18 913 base pairs in length and comprises 2 rRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs and 2 non-coding regions. Comparison with the partial mitogenome of M. japanica suggests a sister-cryptic species complex and two different taxonomic units. However, the limited divergence within the species (>99.9% genetic identity) may be the result of a geographically and numerically restricted population of M. mobular within the Mediterranean Sea.
Declaration of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. This study was supported in part by The University of Queensland (UQ). C. Bustamante was supported by a UQ Postdoctoral Fellowship (Genome diversity of elasmobranchs of the Pacific Ocean Rim), C. Vargas-Caro was supported by CONICYT–Becas Chile and TUAP–Graduate School, UQ, and C. Barría was supported by CONICYT–Becas Chile. The authors would like to thank to Ecotrans Project (ICM-CSIC) and CRAM Foundation for allowing the access to the specimen. Access eFish through the Molecular Fisheries Laboratory website (http://www.molecularfisherieslaboratory.com.au).