Manta hynei is an extinct species of manta ray that was extant in the Pliocene. Its fossils have been found in North America, specifically North Carolina and Virginia.Pollerspöck, J. and Straube, N. (2018). Manta hynei | Literature | Shark-References. [online] Shark-references.com. Available at: http://shark-references.com/literature/listBySpecies/Manta-hynei [Accessed 17 Mar. 2018]. It was first described by Jim Bourdon in 1999, as a specimen dated to the Zanclean (early Pliocene). The species is known from its distinctive fossilized teeth.Healy, C. (2018). Manta hynei Bourdon, 1999. [online] Smithsonian Institution. Available at: https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_10103037 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].Bourdon, J. (1997). Mobula, Manta, etc. — Neogene Mobulids. [online] Elasmo.com. Available at: http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=genera/cenozoic/batoids/mobulid-lc.html&menu=bin/menu_genera-alt.html [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018]. Some authors have suggested, on the basis of tooth morphology, that this species should be classified in the genus Mobula instead.ADNET, S., CAPPETTA, H., GUINOT, G. and NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA, G. (2012). Evolutionary history of the devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) from fossil and morphological inference. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(1), pp.132-159.
