LAUSR

The recently described Lutz's Stingray Hypanus berthalutzae is endemic to the Brazilian Province, including oceanic islands. Although it is expected to have life-history traits similar to the Southern Stingray H. americanus, little is known about its reproductive biology. Here we present the first observations of courtship behavior (n= 4), copulation (n= 3), and an induced parturition of the H. berthalutzae at the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, an insular Marine Protected Area from the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The mating event records included: (1) "chasing/close following", (2) "biting/pre-copulatory-biting", (3) insertion/copulation (Fig. 2 and 3b, c), and (4) "separation". These results are especially relevant, considering that records of reproductive behavior in the wild are rare for elasmobranchs in general. It was also observed that mating events occurred in different months, suggesting that the reproductive cycle of H. berthalutzae in this insular system is asynchronous, as observed for other stingray species in regions with favourable environmental conditions and abundant food throughout the year. The opportunistic documentation of the induced parturition allowed for direct non-lethal observation of the two pups at or near full term in late May. Although preliminary, these observations should be considered in future management plans as they provide relevant data about the life history traits and mating behavior of this endemic and threatened species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.