{"references": ["Krefft, J. L. G. (1868) Deratoptera alfredi (Prince Alfred's ray). Illustrated Sydney News, 5 (11 July 1868), 3, 9.", "Marshall, A. D., Compagno, L. J. V. & Bennett, M. B. (2009) Redescription of the genus Manta with resurrection of Manta alfredi (Krefft, 1868) (Chondrichthyes; Myliobatoidei; Mobulidae). Zootaxa, 2301 (1), 1 - 28. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 2301.1.1", "Ebert, D. A. & Dando, M. (2014) On Board Guide for the Identification of Pelagic Sharks and Rays of the Western Indian Ocean. SmartFish Programme, FAO, Rome & Indian Ocean Commission, Port Louis, 109 pp.", "Ebert, D. A. & van Hees, K. E. (2015) Beyond jaws: rediscovering the \" Lost Sharks \" of southern Africa. African Journal of Marine Science, 37, 141 - 156. https: // doi. org / 10.2989 / 1814232 X. 2015.1048730", "Weigmann, S. (2016) Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. Journal of Fish Biology, 88, 837 - 1037. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / jfb. 12874", "Last, P. R., White, W. T. & Naylor, G. J. P. (2016 c) Sawfishes. Family Pristidae. In: Last, P. R., White, W. T., de Carvalho, M. E., Seret, B., Stehmann, M. F. W. & Naylor, G. J. P. (Eds.), Rays of the World. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, pp. 58 - 64. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / 9780643109148", "Stevens, G., Fernando, D., Dando, M. & Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. (2018) Guide to the Manta & Devil Rays of the World. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth, 144 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.1515 / 9780691207216", "White, W. T., Corrigan, S., Yang, L., Henderson, A. C., Bazinet, A. L., Swofford, D. L. & Naylor, G. J. P. (2018) Phylogeny of the manta and devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Mobulidae), with an updated taxonomic arrangement for the family. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 182 (1), 50 - 75. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlx 018"]}

Mobula alfredi (Krefft, 1868) Reef Manta Ray Deratoptera alfredi Krefft, 1868: 3–9, fig. Holotype: AMS I.1731 (stuffed). Type locality: Watson Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Local synonymy: Manta alfredi: Marshall et al., 2009: 13, figs. 9–14; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 97, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 148; Weigmann, 2016: 981. Mobula alfredi: White & Last, 2016c: 742, fig. 33.1; Stevens et al., 2018: 70, figs. South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 7885. South African distribution: Durban (KZN) and north to the Mozambique border. Remarks: Formerly in the genus Manta, White et al. (2018), using morphological and molecular data, concluded that there was no significant difference between the genera Manta and Mobula. Since Mobula is the older name and takes precendence, the two recognized species formerly in the genus Manta were reassigned to the genus Mobula (White et al., 2018). Marshall et al. (2009) resurrected Mobula (= Manta) alfredi as distinct from Mobula birostris. Prior to this species being resurrected, the name M. birostris was widely used throughout the WIO, with historical records likely including both species. Conservation status: VU (2019).

Published as part of Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, pp. 1-127 in Zootaxa 4947 (1) on page 100, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4947.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4614567