摘要
Japanese butterfly ray Gymnura japonica from twinspot butterfly ray G. bimaculata based on a pair of white spots behind eyes or not, which was not reliable. To clarify the taxonomic status of G. japonica and G. bimaculata, the nucleotide variation between the two butterfly rays was examined using mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons. Approximately 585 bp of 16S ribosomal RNA （rRNA） and 1,128 bp cytochrome b （cyt b） genes were sequenced from representatives of two butterfly rays species in East China Sea. The results showed that there were the same sequences of 16S rRNA gene between two butterfly rays; six sites were variable among two butterfly rays of cyt b genes, the proportion of polymorphie loci was 0.53%, and two haplotypes were defined which genetic distance was 0.5%. Combined with the morphological character and the analysis of mtDNA sequence indicated that twinspot butterfly ray G. bimaculata was a synonym of Japanese butterfly ray G. japonica.
