Revised 24 June 2023
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Rhinoptera Cuvier 1829 rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), nose; ptera, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to conspicuously bilobed subrostral fin of R. marginata, similar to the nose of a cow or ox

Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitchill 1815) Latin for bison, referring to how the ray’s bilobed subrostral fin resembles the nose of a cow or ox

Rhinoptera brasiliensis Müller 1836 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Brazil, type locality

Rhinoptera javanica Müller & Henle 1841 –ica (L.), belonging to: Java, Indonesia, type locality

Rhinoptera jayakari Boulenger 1895 in honor of Atmaram Sadashiva Grandin Jayakar (1844–1911), surgeon, Indian Medical Service, and collector of natural history, who presented holotype to the British Museum

Rhinoptera marginata (Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1817) Latin for bordered, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to dark margin around white ventral surface

Rhinoptera neglecta Ogilby 1912 Latin for neglected or slighted, referring to holotype (now lost) being in “such wretched condition as to preclude a more detailed description”

Rhinoptera peli Bleeker 1863 in honor of Hendrik Severinus Pel (1818–1876), Dutch Governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), whose “enlightened zeal” (translation) led to the deposition of natural history specimens at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), including holotype of this species

Rhinoptera steindachneri Evermann & Jenkins 1891 in honor of Austrian ichthyologist-herpetologist Franz Steindachner (1834–1919), for “valuable services to American ichthyology”