{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,8]],"date-time":"2026-03-08T17:30:25Z","timestamp":1772991025434,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]],"date-time":"2026-01-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767484800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":3,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100002861","name":"Explorers Club","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100002861","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ecology and Evolution"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    While pigmentation disorders such as albinism have been documented in a range of elasmobranch species, including the American cownose ray (\n                    <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">\n                      <jats:italic>Rhinoptera bonasus<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:styled-content>\n                    ), the implications of these rare conditions for behavior, social dynamics, and fitness remain speculative and unverified. Here, we report a case of aberrant pigmentation in a single cownose ray observed schooling among conspecifics in the nearshore waters of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA. The individual displayed pronounced white coloration against a notably dark dorsal surface of both pectoral fins, contrasting sharply with the otherwise uniform brown tones of the surrounding rays. The ray was fully integrated into the school and exhibited no abnormal behavior, suggesting that this pigmentation anomaly did not disrupt social dynamics. This observation augments the small but growing number of reports of pigmentation disorders in\n                    <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">\n                      <jats:italic>R. bonasus<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:styled-content>\n                    , suggesting that important social acceptances required for incorporation into the aggregation were unimpeded by the aberrant pigmentation.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.72890","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T03:14:31Z","timestamp":1767582871000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Aberrant Pigmentation in a Schooling Cownose Ray (\n                    <i>Rhinoptera bonasus<\/i>\n                    ) in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia,\n                    <scp>USA<\/scp>"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7681-8939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Morgan F.","family":"Bennett\u2010Smith","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology &amp; Boston University Marine Program Boston University  Boston Massachusetts USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taylor","family":"Griffith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mission Blue  Napa California USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Helena","family":"Janulis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Explorers Club  New York New York USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4103-2147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eloise B.","family":"Richardson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) King Abdullah University of Science and Technology  Thuwal Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6947-5141","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephen J.","family":"Tomasetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Sciences University of Maryland Eastern Shore Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center  Berlin Maryland USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1590\/S1519-69842013000100020"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jai.14326"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jfb.12072"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","first-page":"13","article-title":"First\u2010Hand Observations of Rare Piebaldism in the Nurse Shark, \n                     Ginglymostoma cirratum\n                  , Near East Bahia Honda, Florida Keys, Florida","volume":"86","author":"Becker M.","year":"2023","journal-title":"Florida Scientist"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12526\u2010015\u20100403\u2010z"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.19233\/ASHN.2020.23"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.22370\/rbmo.2022.57.Especial.3176"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/zoo.10068"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2217692120"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2013.0584"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Joseph B.1961. \u201cAn Albino Cownose Ray Rhinoptera bonasus(Mitchill) From Chesapeake Bay Copeia.\u201d4:482\u2013483.","DOI":"10.2307\/1439601"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_13_1","first-page":"261","article-title":"First Cases of Albinism Recorded in the Marble Electric Ray Torpedo marmorata (Chondrichthyes: Torpedinidae)","volume":"52","author":"Lipej L.","year":"2011","journal-title":"Cahiers de Biologie Marine"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_14_1","unstructured":"Quigley D. T. G. A.deCarlos D.Barros\u2010Garc\u00eda andD.MacGabhann.2018. \u201cAlbinism and Leucism in Blonde Rays (Raja brachyuraLafont 1871) (Elasmobranchii: Batoidea) From the Irish Sea Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists.\u201d38:79\u201388."},{"issue":"10","key":"e_1_2_9_15_1","first-page":"17","article-title":"Abnormal Skin Pigmentation in Sharks in the Eastern Atlantic: A Case Study From Maio Island","volume":"11","author":"Rat\u00e3o S. S.","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cabo Verde Zoologia Caboverdiana"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jfb.15463"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/mammalia\u20102016\u20100086"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_9_18_1","first-page":"12","article-title":"White Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, From Tangier Sound, Maryland","volume":"15","author":"Schwartz F. J.","year":"1959","journal-title":"Maryland Tidewater News"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jfb.15238"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10641\u2010024\u201001532\u20103"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0128279"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.71680"}],"container-title":["Ecology and Evolution"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ece3.72890","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/ece3.72890","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ece3.72890","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,8]],"date-time":"2026-03-08T12:36:08Z","timestamp":1772973368000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ece3.72890"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/ece3.72890"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ece3.72890","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2045-7758","2045-7758"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2045-7758","type":"print"},{"value":"2045-7758","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-12-05","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-12-22","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-01-04","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e72890"}}