country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence:
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Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
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Uses: no uses
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Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
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Classification / Names

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

شِنين بحري بيضاء, 矛吻鳐, Raie blanche, ... more

Main reference

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn. 1998. (Ref. 27314)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 230 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 11284); 202.0 cm TL (female)

Environment

Marine; demersal; depth range 30 - 600 m (Ref. 6808), usually 50 - 500 m (Ref. 26999)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred ?; 56°N - 37°S, 19°W - 23°E

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: Ireland and England southward round the Cape (South Africa) to central Mozambique (Ref. 5578), including western Mediterranean (to Tunisia and western Greece).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

A giant skate with a broad-based, abruptly narrow-tipped snout covered with small, sharp thorns; pectoral disc angular, and no thorns on nape or back, but three rows of large thorns on tail (Ref. 5578). Larger immature and adult individuals grey with numerous small white spots above, underside white with no black pores; hatchlings plain reddish-brown above, often with blue spots, and white below with broad dusky grey margins on disc (Ref. 5578).

Inhabit shelf and slope waters (Ref. 4426). Found on sand and rock-sand bottom (Ref. 6808). A bottom-predator of bony fishes, other elasmobranchs, fish offal, crabs, shrimps, mysids, octopi, and cuttlefish (Ref. 5578). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 4426. Maximum length for female is 202 cm (Ref. 41333). 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 12.5-18.3 cm long and 10.0-13.9 cm wide (Ref. 41250). About 55-156 eggs are produced per individual annually (Ref. 41250).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Endangered (EN) (A2cd+4cd)

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 5578)

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.4 ±0.83 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=55)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Very high vulnerability (84 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium

Rostroraja alba (Lacepède, 1803)