Bigelow's ray (Rajella bigelowi), also called the chocolate skate or Bigelow's skate,[3] is a species of skate in the family Rajidae.[4][5][6] It is named in honour of the oceanographer Henry Bryant Bigelow.[7]
| Bigelow's ray | |
|---|---|
Scientific 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[2] | |
| |
Distribution
editBigelow'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).[8][9]
Description
editLike 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.[4]
Its maximum length is 55 cm (1.80 ft).[10]
Behaviour
editBigelow's ray feeds on small benthic crustaceans.[11]
Life cycle
editBigelow's ray is oviparous. The eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners; they are deposited in sandy or muddy flats.[12]
It is parasitised by Ditrachybothridium macrocephalum (tapeworms of the order Diphyllidea).[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Orlov, A. (December 1, 2008). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Rajella bigelowi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – via www.iucnredlist.org.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)". www.marinespecies.org.
- ^ Hamlett, William C. (May 21, 1999). Sharks, Skates, and Rays: The Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801860485 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (December 19, 2016). "Chocolate or Bigelow's Skate (Rajella bigelowi)". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
- ^ Priede, Imants G. (August 10, 2017). Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316033456 – via Google Books.
- ^ Coad, Brian W.; Reist, James D. (January 1, 2018). Marine Fishes of Arctic Canada. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442647107 – via Google Books.
- ^ Watkins, Michael; Beolens, Bo (January 30, 2015). Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary. Pelagic Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781784270377 – via Google Books.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Shorefishes - The Fishes - Species". biogeodb.stri.si.edu.
- ^ a b "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)". www.marinespecies.org.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Rajella bigelowi, Bigelow's ray". www.fishbase.se.
External links
edit
Data related to Rajella bigelowi at Wikispecies
