Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Etymology: Raja: Latin, raja, -ae = a sting ray (Raja sp.) (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 10 - 380 m (Ref. 6808). Temperate, preferred 14°C (Ref. 107945); 60°N - 21°N, 18°W - 24°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Shetland Islands to Morocco, Rio de Oro (Western Sahara), and Madeira.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 91.7, range 60 - ? cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 41333); 125.0 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 14.3 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Upper surface wholly prickly, except in juveniles; underside only prickly along front margins of disc; orbital thorns separate; a regular median row of 40-45 thorns in juveniles and adult females, interrupted on back in males; 60-90 tooth rows; upper surface ochre, with numerous small dark spots to margins of disc, underside white (Ref. 3167).

Found on sand and sand-rock bottoms (Ref. 6808). Feed on all kinds of benthic animals (Ref. 3167). Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats (Ref. 205). Egg capsules are 10.0-14.3 cm long and 5.8-9.0 cm wide (Ref. 41250). About 40-90 eggs are laid per individual every year (Ref. 41250).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Spawning mainly from February to August with at least 30 egg-cases laid (Ref. 3167). Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2):271-290. (Ref. 27314)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Near Threatened (NT)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

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Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00295 (0.00161 - 0.00540), b=3.21 (3.06 - 3.36), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 3.8 ±0.61 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.12-0.19; tmax=15; Fec=40).

Prior r = 0.21, 2 SD range = 0.05 - 0.85, log(r) = -1.56, SD log(r) = 0.71, Based on: 1 M, 2 K, 1 tgen, 1 tmax, 3 Fec records

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (59 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Raja brachyura Lafont, 1871