Pectoral fin anomalies in the long-tailed butterfly ray, Gymnura poecilura collected from Nagapattinam coastal waters, south-east coast of India.

Occurrence of abnormal rays reported in Indian waters was stumbled upon in the late 19th Century, but it was revised in the early 20th Century and in the past two decades. Reported morphological abnormalities for elasmobranchs in the Indian waters are restricted to pectorals that fail to unite with the sides of the head and fins that developed thick muscular segments. The occurrence of the malformed or adapted specimen Gymnura poecilura suggested reasons for adaptations or malformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]