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Biodiversity and systematics of skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes: Rajoidei)

  • Special Issue-Skates
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Abstract

Skates (Rajiformes: Rajoidei) are a highly diverse fish group, comprising more valid species than any other group of cartilaginous fishes. The high degree of endemism exhibited by the skates is somewhat enigmatic given their relatively conserved body morphology and apparent restrictive habitat, e.g. soft bottom substrates. Skates are primarily marine benthic dwellers found from the intertidal down to depths in excess of 3,000 m. They are most diverse at higher latitudes and in deepwater, but are replaced in shallower, warm temperate to tropical waters by stingrays (Myliobatodei). The number of valid skate species has increased exponentially, with more species having been described since 1950 (n = 126) than had been described in the previous 200 years (n = 119). Much of the renaissance in skate systematics has largely been through the efforts of a few individuals who through author–coauthor collaboration have accounted for 78 of the 131 species described since 1948 and for nine of 13 genera named since 1950. Furthermore, detailed regional surveys and accounts of skate biodiversity have also contributed to a better understanding of the diversity of the skates. A checklist of the living valid skate species is presented.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided to DAE by NOAA/NMFS to the National Shark Research Consortium and Pacific Shark Research Center and by the American Elasmobranch Society. LJVC’s research was supported by grants from the South African Foundation for Research Development (FRD), National Science Foundation (NRF) and Fisheries Development Corporation, and by the South African Museum and the former J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (now South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Shark Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA, 95039, USA

    David A. Ebert

  2. Shark Research Center, Iziko – Museums of Cape Town, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

    Leonard J. V. Compagno

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  1. David A. Ebert
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  2. Leonard J. V. Compagno
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Correspondence to David A. Ebert.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

A checklist of the known skate species. Names of doubtful species are preceeded by a question mark; valid species that are doubtfully placed in agences have a question mark at the end of the generic name.

Class Chondrichthyes—Cartilaginous fishes

       Subclass Elasmobranchii—Sharks and Rays

           Superorder Batoidea—Rays

                Order Rajiformes—Skates

                      Suborder Rajoidei

Family Arhynchobatidae Fowler, 1934—Softnose Skates

This group in an alternate arrangement is ranked as subfamily Arhynchobatinae (e.g., McEachran and Dunn 1998) within a single family, Rajidae, for all skates. Worldwide this family has 12 genera and approximately 89 valid species and 25 undescribed and dubious species.

Genus Arhynchobatis Waite, 1909—Longtailed skates. Found only in New Zealand waters on insular shelves. A single species.

  • Arhynchobatis asperrimus Waite, 1909—Longtailed skate

Genus Atlantoraja Menni, 1972—La Plata skates. Endemic to the western South Atlantic coast of South America, mostly on continental shelves. Three species, plus possibly one undescribed species.

  • Atlantoraja castelnaui (Ribero, 1904)—Spotback skate

  • Atlantoraja cyclophora (Regan, 1903)—Eyespot skate

  • Atlantoraja platana (Günther, 1880)—La Plata skate

Genus Bathyraja Ishiyama 1958—Softnose skates. This wide-ranging speciose and primarily deep-water genus is most diverse at high latitudes, on continental insular shelves and slopes. Forty-six species and at least four, possibly more, undescribed species.

  • Bathyraja abyssicola (Gilbert, 1896)—Deepsea skate

  • Bathyraja aguja (Kendall and Radcliffe, 1912)—Aguja skate

  • Bathyraja aleutica (Gilbert, 1895)—Aleutian skate

  • Bathyraja andriashevi Dolganov, 1985—Little-eye skate

  • Bathyraja bergi Dolganov, 1985—Bottom skate

  • Bathyraja brachyurops (Fowler, 1910)—Broadnose skate

  • Bathyraja caerulonigricans Ishiyama and Ishihara, 1977—Purpleblack skate

  • Bathyraja cousseauae de Astarloa and Mabragaña, 2004—Joined fins skate

  • Bathyraja diplotaenia (Ishiyama, 1952)—Duskypink skate

  • Bathyraja eatoni (Günther, 1876)—Eaton’s skate

  • Bathyraja fedorovi Dolganov, 1985—Cinnamon skate

  • Bathyraja griseocauda (Norman, 1937)—Graytail skate

  • Bathyraja hesperafricana Stehmann, 1995—West African skate

  • Bathyraja irrasa Hureau and Ozouf-Costaz, 1980—Kerguelen sandpaper skate

  • Bathyraja ishiharai Stehmann, 2005—Abyssal skate

  • Bathyraja isotrachys (Günther, 1877)—Challenger skate

  • Bathyraja kincaidii (Garman, 1908)—Sandpaper skate

  • Bathyraja lindbergi Ishiyama and Ishihara, 1977—Commander Skate

  • Bathyraja longicauda (de Buen, 1959)—Slimtail skate

  • Bathyraja maccaini Springer, 1971—McCain’s skate

  • Bathyraja maculata Ishiyama and Ishihara, 1977—Whiteblotched skate

  • Bathyraja mariposa Stevenson, Orr, Hoff, and McEachran, 2004—Butterfly skate

  • Bathyraja matsubarai (Ishiyama, 1952)—Duskypurple skate

  • Bathyraja meridionalis Stehmann, 1987—Darkbelly skate

  • Bathyraja microtrachys (Osburn and Nichols, 1916)—Fine-spine skate

  • Bathyraja minispinosa Ishiyama and Ishihara, 1977—Smallthorn skate

  • Bathyraja notoroensis Ishiyama and Ishihara, 1977–Notoro skate

  • ?Bathyraja ogilbyi (Whitley, 1939)—Great skate (=‘Raja’ whitleyi?)

  • Bathyraja pallida (Forster, 1967)—Pale skate

  • Bathyraja papilionifera Stehmann, 1985—Butterfly skate

  • Bathyraja parmifera (Bean, 1881)—Alaska skate

  • Bathyraja peruana McEachran and Miyake, 1984—Peruvian skate

  • Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick, 1961)—Richardson’s skate

  • Bathyraja scaphiops (Norman, 1937)—Cuphead skate

  • Bathyraja schroederi (Krefft, 1968)—Whitemouth skate

  • Bathyraja shuntovi Dolganov, 1985—Narrownose skate

  • Bathyraja simoterus (Ishiyama, 1967)—Hokkaido skate

  • Bathyraja smirnovi (Soldatov and Pavlenko, 1915)—Golden skate

  • Bathyraja smithii (Müller and Henle, 1841)—African softnose skate

  • Bathyraja spinicauda (Jensen, 1914)—Spinetail skate

  • Bathyraja spinosissima (Beebe and Tee-Van, 1941)—White skate

  • Bathyraja trachouros (Ishiyama, 1958)—Eremo skate

  • Bathyraja trachura (Gilbert, 1892)—Roughtail skate

  • Bathyraja tunae Stehmann, 2005—Cristina’s skate

  • Bathyraja tzinovskii Dolganov, 1985—Creamback skate

  • Bathyraja violacea (Suvorov, 1935)—Okhotsk skate

Genus Brochiraja Last and McEachran, 2006—Thornsnout skates. An endemic genus found in the deepseas surrounding New Zealand. Six described species.

  • Brochiraja aenigma Last and McEachran, 2006—Enigma skate

  • Brochiraja albilabiata Last and McEachran, 2006—Whitelipped skate

  • Brochiraja asperula (Garrick and Paul, 1974)—Prickly deepsea skate

  • Brochiraja leviveneta Last and McEachran, 2006—Smooth blue skate

  • Brochiraja microspinifera Last and McEachran, 2006—Small prickly skate

  • Brochirajaspinifera (Garrick and Paul, 1974)—Spiny deepsea skate

Genus Irolita Whitley, 1931—Round skates. Endemic to Australia, found on the outer shelves and upper slopes. One described and one undescribed species.

  • Irolita waitii (McCulloch, 1911)—Southern round skate

Genus Notoraja Ishiyama, 1958—Velvet skates. Western Pacific, found mostly on continental and insular slopes. Four described and one undescribed species.

  • Notoraja laxipella (Yearsley and Last, 1992)—Eastern looseskin skate

  • Notoraja ochroderma McEachran and Last, 1994—Yellow skate

  • Notoraja subtilispinosa Stehmann, 1989—Deep-water skate

  • Notoraja tobitukai (Hiyama, 1940)—Leadhued skate

Genus Pavoraja Whitley 1939—Peacock skates. Western South Pacific, mainly on outer continental shelves and upper slopes. Two described species with at least four or more undescribed species.

  • Pavoraja alleni McEachran and Fechhelm, 1982—Allen’s skate

  • Pavoraja nitida (Günther, 1880)—Peacock skate

Genus Psammobatis Günther, 1870—Sandskates. Endemic to the eastern South Pacific and western South Atlantic coasts of South America, mostly found on continental shelves. Eight described species.

  • Psammobatis bergi Marini, 1932—Blotched sandskate

  • Psammobatis extenta Garman, 1913—Zipper skate

  • Psammobatis lentiginosa (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951)—Freckled sandskate

  • Psammobatis normani McEachran, 1983—Shortfin sandskate

  • Psammobatis parvacauda McEachran 1983—Smalltail sandskate

  • Psammobatis rudis Günther, 1870—Smallthorn sandskate

  • Psammobatis rutrum Jordan, 1890—Spade sandskate

  • Psammobatis scobina (Philippi, 1857)—Raspthorn sandskate

Genus Pseudoraja Bigelow and Schroeder, 1954—Fanfin skates. A single endemic species to the western North Atlantic, found on continental slopes.

  • Pseudoraja fischeri Bigelow and Schroeder, 1954—Fanfin skate

Genus Rhinoraja Ishiyama, 1952—Jointnose skates. A wide-ranging, but patchily distributed, group found in the North Pacific, western South Atlantic coast of South America, and Antarctica, found on continental and insular shelves and slopes. This genus differs from Bathyraja primarily in having a basal joint in the rostral cartilage and may not be separable from that genus. Twelve species.

  • Rhinoraja albomaculata (Norman, 1937)—White-dotted skate

  • Rhinoraja interrupta (Gill and Townsend, 1897)—Bering skate

  • Rhinoraja kujiensis (Tanaka, 1916)—Dapple-bellied softnose skate

  • Rhinoraja longicauda Ishiyama, 1952—Whitebellied softnose skate

  • Rhinoraja macloviana (Norman, 1937)—Patagonian skate

  • Rhinoraja magellanica (Philippi, 1902)—Magellan skate

  • Rhinoraja multispinis (Norman, 1937)—Multispine skate

  • Rhinoraja murrayi (Günther, 1880)—Murray’s skate

  • ?Rhinoraja obtusa (Gill and Townsend, 1897)—Blunt skate.

  • Rhinoraja odai Ishiyama, 1958—Oda’s skate

  • ?Rhinoraja rosispinis (Gill and Townsend, 1897)—Flathead skate

  • Rhinoraja taranetzi Dolganov, 1985—Mud skate

Genus Rioraja Whitley, 1939—Rio skates. Endemic to the western South Atlantic coast of South America, found on continental shelves. One species.

  • Rioraja agassizi (Müller and Henle, 1841)—Rio Skate

Genus Sympterygia Müller and Henle, 1837—Fanskates. Endemic to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, found primarily on continental shelves. Four valid species.

  • Sympterygia acuta Garman, 1877—Bignose fanskate

  • Sympterygia bonapartei Müller and Henle, 1841—Smallnose fanskate

  • Sympterygia brevicaudata Cope, 1877—Shorttail fanskate

  • Sympterygia lima (Poeppig, 1835)—Filetail skate

Family Rajidae Blainville, 1816—Hardnose Skates

The Rajidae, in some arrangements (e.g. McEachran and Dunn 1998; McEachran and Aschliman 2004), are considered monophyletic, with all species occurring within this family due largely to their similarity in appearance. In the present arrangement this family has 13 genera, approximately 138 valid species, and at least 45 undescribed and dubious species world-wide.

Genus Amblyraja Malm, 1877—Stout skates. A wide-ranging, circumglobal, genus mostly found at higher latitudes and in deep tropical waters, mostly on continental and insular shelves and slopes, and around seamounts. Ten valid species and two undescribed species.

  • Amblyraja badia (Garman, 1899)—Broad skate

  • Amblyraja doellojuradoi (Pozzi, 1935)—Southern thorny skate

  • Amblyraja frerichsi (Krefft, 1968)—Thickbody skate

  • Amblyraja georgiana (Norman, 1938)—Antarctic starry skate

  • Amblyraja hyperborea (Collette, 1879)—Arctic skate

  • Amblyraja jenseni (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950)—Jensen’s skate

  • Amblyraja radiata (Donovan, 1808)—Thorny skate

  • Amblyraja reversa (Lloyd, 1906)—Reversed skate

  • Amblyraja robertsi (Hulley, 1970)—Bigmouth skate

  • Amblyraja taaf (Meisner, 1987)—Whiteleg skate

Genus Breviraja Bigelow and Schroeder, 1948—Lightnose skates. Found in the eastern and western Atlantic, mostly on continental slopes. Six described and possibly one undescribed species.

  • Breviraja claramaculata McEachran and Matheson, 1985—Bright spotted skate

  • Breviraja colesi Bigelow and Schroeder, 1948—Lightnose skate

  • Breviraja marklei McEachran and Miyake, 1987—Nove Scotia skate

  • Breviraja mouldi McEachran and Matheson, 1995—Blacknose skate

  • Breviraja nigriventralis McEachran and Matheson, 1985—Blackbelly skate

  • Breviraja spinosa Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950—Spiny skate

Genus Dactylobatus Bean and Weed, 1909—Skilletskates. Endemic to the western North Atlantic, primarily found on continental slopes. Two valid species.

  • Dactylobatus armatus Bean and Weed, 1909—Skillet skate

  • Dactylobatus clarki (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958)—Hook skate

Genus Dipturus Rafinesque, 1810—Longnosed skates. A wide-ranging genus in cool temperate to tropical waters, found mostly on continental shelves and slopes. At least 31 species with 15 or more undescribed species; several species within this genus are questionably placed here.

  • Dipturus batis (Linnaeus, 1758)—Gray skate

  • Dipturus bullisi (Bigelow and Schroeder 1962)—Tortugas skate

  • Dipturus campbelli (Wallace, 1967)—Blackspot skate

  • Dipturus chilensis (Guichenot, 1848)—South American Yellownose skate

  • Dipturus crosnieri (Seret, 1989)—Madagascar skate

  • Dipturus diehli Soto and Mincarone, 2001—Thorny tail skate

  • Dipturus doutrei (Cadenat, 1960)—Javelin skate

  • Dipturus ecuadoriensis (Beebe and Tee-Van, 1941)—Ecuador skate

  • Dipturus garricki (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958)—San Blas skate

  • Dipturus gigas (Ishiyama, 1958)—Giant skate

  • Dipturus gudgeri (Whitley, 1940)—Bight skate

  • Dipturus innominata (Garrick and Paul, 1974)—New Zealand smoothskate

  • Dipturus johannisdavisi (Alcock, 1899)—Travancore skate

  • Dipturus kwangtungensis (Chu, 1960)—Kwangtung skate

  • Dipturus laevis (Mitchell, 1817)—Barndoor skate

  • Dipturus lanceorostrata (Wallace, 1967)—Rattail skate

  • Dipturus leptocauda (Krefft and Stehmann, 1975)—Thintail skate

  • Dipturus linteus (Fries, 1838)—Sailray

  • Dipturus macrocauda (Ishiyama, 1955)—Japanese bigtail skate

  • Dipturus mennii Gomes and Parago, 200—South Brazilian skate

  • Dipturus nasutus (Banks in Müller and Henle 1841)—New Zealand longnose skate

  • Dipturus nidarosiensis Collett, 1880)—Norwegian skate

  • Dipturus olseni (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951)—Spreadfin skate

  • Dipturus oregoni (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958)—Hooktail skate

  • Dipturus oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758)—Longnosed skate

  • Dipturus pullopunctata (Smith, 1964)—Slime skate

  • Dipturus springeri (Wallace, 1967)—Roughbelly skate

  • Dipturus stenorhynchus (Wallace, 1967)—Prownose skate

  • Dipturus teevani (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951)—Florida skate

  • Dipturus tengu (Jordan and Fowler, 1903)—Japanese acutenose skate

  • Dipturus trachyderma Krefft and Stehmann, (1975)—Roughskin skate

Genus Fenestraja McEachran and Compagno, 1982—Pluto skates. A widely scattered group with representatives in the western North Atlantic, western Indian Ocean, and western Pacific, found mostly on continental and insular slopes. Eight species.

  • Fenestraja atripinna (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950)—Blackfin skate

  • Fenestraja cubensis (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950)—Cuban skate

  • Fenestraja ishiyamai (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1962)—Plain pygmy skate

  • Fenestraja maceachrani (Seret, 1989)—Madagascar skate

  • Fenestraja mamillidens (Alcock, 1889)—Prickly skate

  • Fenestraja plutonia (Garman, 1881)—Pluto skate

  • Fenestraja sibogae (Weber, 1913)—Siboga pygmy skate

  • Fenestraja sinusmexicanus (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950)—Gulf of Mexico pygmy skate

Genus Gurgesiella de Buen, 1959—Finless pygmy skates. Western South Atlantic and eastern South Pacific, these skates occur on continental and insular slopes. Three described species.

  • Gurgesiella atlantica (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1962)—Atlantic skate

  • Gurgesiella dorsalifera McEachran and Compagno, 1980—Onefin skate

  • Gurgesiella furvescens (de Buen, 1959)—Dusky finless skate

Genus Leucoraja Malm, 1877—Rough skates. This genus is most diverse in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, but includes a few outlying endemic species off southern Africa and Australia, mostly found on continental shelves and slopes. Twelve described and three undescribed species.

  • Leucoraja circularis (Couch, 1838)—Sandy skate

  • Leucoraja compagnoi (Stehmann, 1995)—Tigertail skate

  • Leucoraja erinacea (Mitchell, 1825)—Little skate

  • Leucoraja fullonica (Linnaeus, 1758)—Shagreen skate

  • Leucoraja garmani (Whitley, 1939)—Rosette skate

  • Leucoraja lentiginosa (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951)—Freckled skate

  • Leucoraja leucosticta (Stehmann, 1971)—Whitedappled skate

  • Leucoraja melitensis (Clark, 1926)—Maltese skate

  • Leucoraja naevus (Müller and Henle, 1841)—Cuckoo skate

  • Leucoraja ocellata (Mitchell, 1815)—Winter skate

  • Leucoraja wallacei (Hulley, 1970)—Yellowspot skate

  • Leucoraja yucatanensis (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1950)—Yucatan skate

Genus Malacoraja Stehmann, 1970—Soft skates. Restricted to the Atlantic Ocean, except for one undescribed species from the southwestern Indian Ocean, these are mostly deep-slope skates. Four described species and one possibly undescribed species.

  • Malacoraja kreffti (Stehmann, 1978)—Krefft’s skate

  • Malacoraja obscura de Carvalho, Gomes, and Gadig, 2005—Dusky skate

  • Malacoraja senta (Garman, 1885)—Smooth skate

  • Malacoraja spinacidermis (Barnard, 1923)—Roughskin skate

Genus Neoraja McEachran and Compagno, 1982—Pygmy skates. Western North Atlantic and eastern Atlantic, mostly found on continental slopes. Four species.

  • Neoraja africana Stehmann and Seret, 1983—African skate

  • Neoraja caerulea (Stehmann, 1976)—Blue skate

  • Neoraja carolinensis McEachran and Stehmann, 1984—Carolina skate

  • Neoraja stehmanni (Hulley, 1972)—African dwarf skate

Genus Okamejei Ishiyama, 1958—Spiny rasp skates. This genus is most diverse in the western Pacific, but with outlier species in the Indian Ocean, occurs on continental shelves and slopes. Fourteen described and at least two undescribed species.

  • Okamejei acutispina (Ishiyama, 1958)—Japanese sharpspine skate

  • Okamejei australis (Macleay, 1884)—Common skate

  • Okamejei boesemani (Ishihara, 1987)—Black sand skate

  • Okamejei cerva (Whitley, 1939)—Whitespotted skate

  • Okamejei heemstrai (McEachran and Fechhlem, 1982)—East African skate

  • Okamejei hollandi (Jordan and Richardson, 1909)—Yellowspot skate

  • Okamejei kenojei (Müller and Henle, 1841)—Ocellate spot skate

  • Okamejei koreana (Jeong and Nakabo, 1997)—Korean skate

  • Okamejei lemprieri (Richardson, 1845)—Thornback skate

  • Okamejei meerdervoorti (Bleeker, 1860)—Bigeye skate

  • Okamejei philipi (Lloyd, 1906)—Aden ringed skate

  • Okamejei pita (Fricke and Al-Hussar, 1995)—Pita skate

  • Okamejei powelli Alcock, 1898—Indian ringed skate

  • Okamejei schmidti Ishiyama, 1958—Browneye skate

Genus Raja Linnaeus, 1758—Ocellate skates. Primarily found in the eastern North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black seas, but with some species ranging into the southwestern Indian Ocean, usually found on continental and insular shelves and slopes. Thirteen valid species, two dubious species, and at least one undescribed species.

  • Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809—Starry skate

  • Raja brachyura Lafont, 1873—Blonde skate

  • Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758—Thornback skate

  • Raja herwigi Krefft, 1965—Cape Verde skate

  • Raja maderensis Lowe, 1838—Madera skate

  • Raja microocellata Montagu, 1818—Small-eyed skate

  • Raja miraletus Linnaeus, 1758—Twineyed skate

  • Raja montagui Fowler, 1910—Spotted skate

  • Raja polystigma Regan, 1923—Speckled skate

  • Raja radula Delaroche, 1809—Rough skate

  • Raja rondeleti Bougis, 1959—Rondelet’s skate

  • Raja straeleni Poll, 1951—False thornback skate or Biscuit skate

  • Raja undulata Lacepede, 1802—Undulate skate

Genus Rajella Stehmann, 1970—Gray skates. This genus is most diverse in the Atlantic, but with outliers in the eastern South Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Australia, mostly on continental and insular shelves and slopes. Fifteen valid species and at least four undescribed species, plus two dubious species.

  • Rajella annandalei (Weber, 1913)—Indonesian round skate

  • Rajella barnardi (Norman, 1935)—Bigthorn skate

  • Rajella bathyphila (Holt and Byrne, 1908)—Deepwater skate

  • Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)—Bigelow’s or chocolate skate

  • Rajella caudispinosa (Von Bonde and Swart, 1923)—Munchkin skate

  • Rajella dissimilis (Hulley, 1970)—Ghost skate

  • Rajella eisenhardti Long and McCosker, 1999—Eisenhardt’s skate

  • Rajella fuliginea (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1954)—Sooty skate

  • Rajella fyllae (Lutken, 1887)—Round skate

  • Rajella kukujevi (Dolganov, 1985)—Mid-Atlantic skate

  • Rajella leopardus (von Bonde and Swart, 1923)—Leopard skate

  • Rajella nigerrima (de Buen, 1960)—Blackish skate

  • Rajella purpuriventralis (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1962)—Purplebelly skate

  • Rajella ravidula (Hulley, 1970)—Smoothback skate

  • Rajella sadowskii (Krefft and Stehmann, 1974)—Brazilian skate

Genus Rostroraja Hulley, 1972—Spearnose skates. A single species ranging from the eastern Atlantic to the southwestern Indian Ocean, mostly found on continental shelves and uppermost slopes.

  • Rostroraja alba (Lacepede, 1803)—Spearnose skate

Species nominally retained in Raja representing undescribed genus-group taxa

Genus “A” for North Pacific Raja Assemblage McEachran and Dunn, 1998. Six species.

  • Raja binoculata Girard, 1854—Big skate

  • Raja cortezensis McEachran and Miyake, 1988—Sea of Cortez skate

  • Raja inornata Jordan and Gilbert, 1881—California skate

  • Raja pulchra Liu, 1932–Mottled skate

  • Raja rhina Jordan and Gilbert, 1880—Longnose skate

  • Raja stellulata Jordan and Gilbert, 1880—Starry skate

Genus “B” for Amphi-American Raja Assemblage McEachran and Dunn, 1998. Seven species.

  • Raja ackleyi Garman, 1881—Ocellate skate

  • Raja bahamensis Bigelow and Schroeder, 1965—Bahama skate

  • Raja cervigoni Bigelow and Schroeder, 1964—Venezuela skate

  • Raja eglanteria Bosc, 1802—Clearnose skate

  • Raja equatorialis Jordan and Bollman, 1890—Equatorial skate

  • Raja texana Chandler, 1921—Roundel skate

  • Raja velezi Chirichigno, 1973—Rasptail skate

Genus “C” for western South Pacific species with provisional generic and familiar placement. Two described and at least three undescribed species.

  • Raja polyommata Ogilby, 1910—Argus skate

  • Raja whitleyi Iredale, 1938—Melbourne skate

Family Anacanthobatidae von Bonde and Swart, 1924—Legskates

McEachran and Dunn (1998) reduced this group to a sister taxon within the subfamily Rajinae. A small group, only two genera, these skates have distinctive leglike anterior pelvic fin lobes, and includes 18 valid species plus at least five undescribed species.

Genus Anacanthobatis von Bonde and Swart, 1924—Smooth legskates. A wide ranging, but sporadically distributed group found in the western North and Central Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and the western Central Pacific, on continental and insular slopes. Ten described and at least five undescribed species.

  • Anacanthobatis americanus Bigelow and Schroeder 1962—American legskate

  • Anacanthobatis borneensis Chan, 1965—Borneo skate

  • Anacanthobatis donghaiensis (Deng, Xiong and Zhan, 1983)—East China legskate

  • Anacanthobatis folirostris (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951)—Leafnose legskate

  • Anacanthobatis longirostris Bigelow and Schroeder 1962—Longnose legskate

  • Anacanthobatis marmoratus (von Bonde and Swart, 1924)—Spotted legskate

  • Anacanthobatis melanosomus (Chan, 1965)—Blackbellied legskate

  • Anacanthobatis nanhaiensis (Meng and Li, 1981)—South China legskate

  • Anacanthobatis ori (Wallace, 1967)—Black legskate

  • Anacanthobatis stenosomus (Li and Hu, 1982)—Narrow legskate

Genus Cruriraja Bigelow and Schroeder 1948—Legskates. Western North and Central Atlantic, eastern South Atlantic, and southwestern Indian Ocean, found on continental and insular shelves and slopes. Eight valid species.

  • Cruriraja andamanica (Lloyd, 1909)—Andaman legskate

  • Cruriraja atlantis Bigelow and Schroeder, 1948—Atlantic skate

  • Cruriraja cadenati Bigelow and Schroeder 1962—Broadfoot legskate

  • Cruriraja durbanesis (von Bonde and Swart, 1924)—Smoothnose legskate

  • Cruriraja ‘parcomaculata’ Smith, 1964 (not von Bonde and Swart, 1924)—Roughnose skate

  • Cruriraja poeyi Bigelow and Schroeder, 1948—Cuban legskate

  • Cruriraja rugosa Bigelow and Schroeder 1958—Rough legskate

  • Cruriraja triangularis Smith, 1964 (=C. parcomaculata von Bonde and Swart, 1924)—Triangular skate

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Ebert, D.A., Compagno, L.J.V. Biodiversity and systematics of skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes: Rajoidei). Environ Biol Fish 80, 111–124 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-007-9247-0

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