| African dwarf skate | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Family: | Rajidae |
| Genus: | Neoraja |
| Species: | N. stehmanni |
| Binomial name | |
| Neoraja stehmanni (Hulley, 1972) | |
The African dwarf skate (Neoraja stehmanni), or South African pygmy skate, is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is endemic to South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.
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Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. More than 150 species have been described, in 17 genera. Softnose skates and pygmy skates were previously treated as subfamilies of Rajidae, but are now considered as distinct families. Alternatively, the name "skate" is used to refer to the entire order of Rajiformes.
Percy Alexander Hulley is a South African zoologist and ichthyologist.. He is a research associate at the South African Museum and has described many species of fish including the taillight shark.
Python is a genus of constricting snakes in the Pythonidae family native to the tropics and subtropics of the Eastern Hemisphere.
The African ribbontail catshark, Eridacnis sinuans, is a finback catshark of the family Proscylliidae, found in the western Indian Ocean, from Tanzania, South Africa, and Mozambique, at depths between 180 and 480 m. It can grow up to a length of 37 cm.
The brown shyshark or plain happy is a species of catshark, part of the family Scyliorhinidae. It is endemic to the shallow, coastal waters of South Africa from west of Cape Agulhas to KwaZulu-Natal. This benthic species is usually found over sandy or rocky bottoms. Measuring up to 73 cm (29 in) long, the brown shyshark is stoutly built, with a broad, flattened head and rounded snout. Unlike other shysharks, the brown shyshark has a plain brown color, though some individuals have faint "saddle" markings or light or dark spots. When threatened, this shark curls into a circle with its tail over its eyes, which is the origin of the name "shyshark". It feeds on bony fishes and lobsters, and is oviparous with females laying pairs of egg capsules. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this harmless species as Vulnerable. It is of no commercial or recreational interest, but its limited distribution makes its entire population vulnerable to increases in fishing pressure or habitat degradation.
The lined catshark or banded catshark is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the waters off the coasts of Beira, Mozambique, to East London, and South Africa between latitudes 19°S and 31°S, from the surface to 290 m. It can grow up to 56 cm in length.
The Saldanha catshark is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. This catshark is found from Cape Columbine to south of False Bay in South Africa, between 31 and 40°S. Its length is up to 88 cm. It is a plain, dark grey-brown, stout catshark, with moderately large eyes, a broad snout, and large pectoral fins.
The African angelshark is an angelshark of the family Squatinidae.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 858 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The Natal spurfowl or Natal francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The blackspot skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is found off the south-eastern coast of Africa from Durban, South Africa to central Mozambique. Its natural habitat is open seas. It has a triangular snout, tail stout that is moderately smaller than its body, and small thorns on the nape and back. On the upper side of the fish it is medium grey or a brownish color with black spots and the underside has noticeably black spores.
The prownose skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is found off Mozambique and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.
Neoraja is a genus of fish in the family Rajidae found in the Atlantic Ocean. These small, deep-water skates all reach a total length of approximately 30 centimetres (12 in).
The munchkin skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is found in Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.
The smoothback skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It is found in Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.
Neoraja caerulea, also known as the blue ray or blue pygmy skate, is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. This small ray reaches a total length of approximately 30 centimetres (12 in) and is endemic to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean off Ireland and Iceland, and south to the Bay of Biscay. It occurs at depths of 600 to 1,262 metres.
The Norwegian skate, or black skate, is a species of skate found at depths of 200 m (660 ft) to over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the East Atlantic region. Initially its range was believed to be restricted to the Norwegian Sea and North Sea to the Bay of Biscay. It is occasionally encountered off the western coast of Ireland, and historically has been found near Rockall and in the Norwegian Deep, though recent surveys have not identified the species there. The species has frequently been confused with other skates, and since the late 1980s it has been confirmed to occur more widely, ranging from Iceland to Morocco, as well as off South Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Amblyraja taaf, commonly known as the whiteleg skate or thorny skate, is a little-known skate found at depths ranging from 150 to 600 m. It has been located off Crozet and Kerguelen Islands. Other specimens have been found off the coast of South Africa and Madagascar, but may be unrepresentative of the skate's native regions. Because of the limited knowledge of its biology and extent of capture in fisheries, this species is assessed as data deficient.
The southern giraffe, also known as two-horned giraffe, is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies.
