Bathyraja aleutica

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Rajidae

Benthic rays occurring in all oceans, from Arctic to Antarctic waters and from shallow coastal shelfs to abyssal regions; rare in tropical shallow waters or near coral reefs; some species enter brackish waters. Disc quadrangular to rhomboidal . Mouth transversed to arched, with numerous teeth. Five pairs of ventral gill slits . Tail very slender, with lateral folds, usually 2 reduced dorsal fins and a reduced caudal fin. Electric organs weak, developed from caudal muscles. Skin prickly in most species, the prickles often in a row along midline of dorsal. Oviparous ; eggs in a horny capsule with four long tips . A reversal to egg-laying from live-bearing was observed in this group based on fossil records (Ref. 50449). Skates feed on other benthic organisms. Skate wings are considered good eating. The following subgenus have been elevated to the genus level: Amblyraja, Dipturus, Fenestraja, Leucoraja, Okamejei, Rajella, Rostroraja (Ref. 27314).The family Rajidae belongs to the Class Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) and the Order Rajiformes. It contains 14 genera and 200 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is rajiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Cretaceous period. Etymology of this family name : Latin, raja = ray

Habitat

May be found at depths of 15 to 1602 meters.

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -5,246 meters (0 to -17,211 feet).Mean = -482.720 meters (-1,583.727 feet), Standard Deviation = 878.990 based on 1,386 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Bathydemersal .

Biology

Reproduction

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 capsule measures 120-136 mm long and 73-90 mm wide (Ref. 41249, 41253).

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Bathyraja aleutica (Gilbert, 1896)
2. Breviraja albomaculata (Norman, 1937)
3. Raja albomaculata Norman, 1937
4. Raja aleutica Gilbert, 1896
5. Rhinoraja albomaculata (Norman, 1937)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Family : Skates .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Bathyraja

There are approximately 55 species in this genus:

B. abyssicola (Abyssal Skate) · B. aguja (Aguja Skate) · B. albomaculata (Spotted Ray) · B. aleutica (Aleutian Skate) · B. andriashevi (Little-Eyed Skate) · B. bergi (Bottom Skate) · B. brachyurops (Broadnose Skate) · B. caeluronigricans (Purple-Black Skate) · B. cameroni · B. cousseauae · B. diplotaenia (Dusky-Pink Skate) · B. eatonii (Eaton's Skate) · B. fedorovi (Cinnamon Skate) · B. griseocauda (Austral Ray) · B. hesperafricana (West African Skate) · B. hubbsi (Mud Skate) · B. interrupta (Bering Skate) · B. irrasa (Kerguelen Sandpaper Skate) · B. isotrachys (Challenger Skate) · B. lindbergi (Commander Skate) · B. longicauda (Slimtail Skate) · B. maccaini (Mccain's Skate) · B. macloviana (Patagonian Skate) · B. maculata (White-Blotched Skate) · B. magellanica (Magellan Common Ray) · B. mariposa · B. matsubarai (Dusky-Purple Skate) · B. meridionalis (Dark-Belly Skate) · B. minispinosa (Smallthorn Skate) · B. multispinis (Multispine Skate) · B. murrayi (Murray's Skate) · B. notoroensis (Notoro Skate) · B. pallida (Pale Ray) · B. papilionifera (Butterfly Skate) · B. papilonifera · B. parmifera (Alaska Skate) · B. peruana (Peruvian Skate) · B. pseudoisotrachys · B. richardsoni (Deepsea Skate) · B. scaphiops (Cuphead Skate) · B. schroederi (Ray) · B. shuntovi (Longnose Deepsea Skate) · B. simoterus (Hokkaido Skate) · B. smirnovi (Golden Skate) · B. smithi (African Softnose Skate) · B. smithii (African Softnose Skate) · B. spinicauda (Spinetail Ray) · B. spinosissima (Pacific White Skate) · B. spp · B. trachouros (Eremo Skate) · B. trachura (Black Skate) · B. trachura morph · B. tzinovskii (Creamback Skate) · B. violacea (Okhotsk Skate) · B. pseudoisotrachys

Bibliography

• Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983). A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.
• Fedorov, V.V., I.A. Chereshnev, M.V. Nazarkin, A.V. Shestakov and V.V. Volobuev (2003). Catalog of marine and freswater fishes of the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2003. 204 p.
• Fritzsch, B. and P. Moller (1995). A history of electroreception. p. 39-55. In P. Moller, Electric Fishes: history and behavior. Fish and Fisheries series 17. Chapman and Hall, London.
• Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984). The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1 (text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text), 370 pls.
• 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.
• McEachran, John D., and Katherine A. Dunn 1998. Phylogenetic Analysis of Skates, a Morphologically Conservative Clade of Elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia, vol. 1998, no. 2. 271-290.
• Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.

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Notes

Contributors

• Alaska Fisheries Science Center
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2007. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 2, 2007.
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 02, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 5 providers.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• McEachran, John (from FishBase).

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

• Burke Museum: University of Washington Fish Collection
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: North Pacific Groundfish Observer (North Pacific Research Board)
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center: Fish Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2488464
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-24308
• Fishbase Species ID: 2555
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13548351
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 160935
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 104505

Footnotes

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