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Bigelow's ray

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Species of cartilaginous fish

Bigelow's ray
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Rajidae
Genus: Rajella
Species: R. bigelowi
Binomial name
Rajella bigelowi
(Stehmann, 1978)
Synonyms
  • Raja bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)

Bigelow's ray (Rajella bigelowi), also called the chocolate skate or Bigelow's skate, is a species of skate in the family Rajidae. It is named in honour of the oceanographer Henry Bryant Bigelow.

Distribution

Bigelow's ray lives on continental slopes and deepwater rises around the edges of the Atlantic Ocean. It has been recorded at 367–4,156 m (1,204–13,635 ft), mostly below 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

Description

Like all rays, Bigelow's ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. The body is sub-rhomboid. It is dark on the dorsal surface, with the outer edges of the disc and pelvic fins shading to a slightly darker colour.

Its maximum length is 55 cm (1.80 ft).

Behaviour

Bigelow's ray feeds on small benthic crustaceans.

Life cycle

Bigelow's ray is oviparous. The eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners; they are deposited in sandy or muddy flats.

It is parasitised by Ditrachybothridium macrocephalum (tapeworms of the order Diphyllidea).

See also

References

  1. Orlov, A. (December 1, 2008). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Rajella bigelowi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – via www.iucnredlist.org.
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)". www.marinespecies.org.
  3. Hamlett, William C. (May 21, 1999). Sharks, Skates, and Rays: The Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801860485 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (December 19, 2016). "Chocolate or Bigelow's Skate (Rajella bigelowi)". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
  5. Priede, Imants G. (August 10, 2017). Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316033456 – via Google Books.
  6. Coad, Brian W.; Reist, James D. (January 1, 2018). Marine Fishes of Arctic Canada. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442647107 – via Google Books.
  7. Watkins, Michael; Beolens, Bo (January 30, 2015). Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary. Pelagic Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781784270377 – via Google Books.
  8. Carrier, Jeffrey C.; Musick, John A.; Heithaus, Michael R. (March 9, 2010). Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology, and Conservation. CRC Press. ISBN 9781420080483 – via Google Books.
  9. "Shorefishes - The Fishes - Species". biogeodb.stri.si.edu.
  10. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)". www.marinespecies.org.
  11. Last, Peter; Naylor, Gavin; Séret, Bernard; White, William; Stehmann, Matthias; Carvalho, Marcelo de (December 1, 2016). Rays of the World. Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643109155 – via Google Books.
  12. "Rajella bigelowi, Bigelow's ray". www.fishbase.se.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Rajella bigelowi
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