| Amblyraja | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Broad skate (A. badia) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Family: | Rajidae |
| Genus: | Amblyraja Malm, 1877 |
| Type species | |
| Raja radiata Donovan, 1808 | |
Amblyraja is a genus of skates that primarily are found in the Atlantic, but species also occur in the East and North Pacific, the Arabian Sea, the sub-Antarctic, and off Southern Australia and New Zealand.
Ten recognized species are placed in this genus: [1]
The Antarctic fur seal, is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus, and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed in Subantarctic islands and its scientific name is thought to have come from the German vessel SMS Gazelle, which was the first to collect specimens of this species from Kerguelen Islands.
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.
Notothenioidei is one of 19 suborders from the order Perciformes and that primarily includes Antarctic fish and Subantarctic fish, but also a few species ranging north to southern Australia and southern South America. These species, which are referred to collectively as the notothenioids, account for approximately 90% of the fish fauna biomass in the continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica.
Raja, also known as raia, is a genus of skates in the family Rajidae containing 16 species. Formerly a wastebasket genus, many species historically placed here have been moved to other genera in the family, such as Amblyraja, Beringraja, Dipturus, Leucoraja and Rostroraja. Raja are flat-bodied, cartilaginous fish with a rhombic shapes due to their large pectoral fins extending from or nearly from the snouts to the bases of their tails. Their sharp snouts are produced by a cranial projection of rostral cartilage. The mouth and gills are located on underside of the body. They may be either solid-coloured or patterned, and most skates have spiny or thorn-like structures on the upper surface, and some species contain weak electrical organs within their tails. Mating typically occurs in the spring and the female lays numerous eggs per clutch which are encapsulated in leathery cases, commonly known as "mermaid’s purses". Species vary in size, ranging from about 40 to 140 cm (1.3–4.6 ft) in length. These bottom-dwellers are active during both day and night, and typically feed on molluscs, crustaceans and fish. Raja skates are found in the East Atlantic, including the Mediterranean, and western Indian Ocean, ranging from relatively shallow water to a depth of 800 m (2,600 ft). Skates and related species have fossil records dating from the Upper Cretaceous period, thus this well adapted species is quite ancient.
The barndoor skate is a species of marine cartilaginous fish in the skate family Rajidae of the order Rajiformes. It is native to the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, and is found from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the southern side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to North Carolina. The fish is one of the largest skates found in the North Atlantic Ocean, reaching lengths up to 1.5 m (5 ft). It is carnivorous, feeding on invertebrates and other fish found near the sea floor.
The thickbody skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae found off the coasts of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Its natural habitat is open seas.
The broad skate is a poorly known species of skate in the family Rajidae. It occurs at depths of 846 to 2,324 metres, and has been observed via remotely operated underwater vehicle by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute as deep as 3,167 metres (10,390 ft), making it one of the deepest-occurring skates known. It is sporadically distributed in the Pacific Ocean, from the Gulf of Panama to British Columbia and the Bering Sea, to the Tohoku Slope off northern Honshu and the Okhotsk Slope off Hokkaido. The species name, badia, comes from the Latin batius meaning "brown", referring to its color.
The thorny skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. This bottom-living skate lives in the North and south-eastern Atlantic Ocean in depths ranging from 20 to 1,000 m (66–3,281 ft) and water temperatures from −1 to 14 °C (30–57 °F).
The bigmouth skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It lives near the bottom in deep waters in Southeast Atlantic in depths below 1000 m. Its maximum size is 77 cm. It has a hard, roughly triangular snout and smooth body with star-based thorns around its eyes, tail, and elsewhere. Its top side is dark gray and underside has white spots. As the name suggests, it has a large mouth.
The Arctic skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It lives near the seabed between 140 and 2,500 m deep in the Arctic Ocean and waters around Canada and northern and north-western Europe, in the northern Pacific Ocean, and in waters surrounding Antarctica and New Zealand.
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. As such, it is regarded as the second-smallest of the five principal oceanic divisions: smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans but larger than the Arctic Ocean. Over the past 30 years, the Southern Ocean has been subject to rapid climate change, which has led to changes in the marine ecosystem.
The southern thorny skate is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. It lives off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay, and around the Falkland Islands in depths ranging from 51 to 642 m. Its maximum size is 69 cm. It lays oblong egg capsules with horn-like projections at the corners which are laid in sandy or muddy flats. The eggs measure 86.4 mm in length and 56.2 mm in width.
Jensen's skate, also known as the shortail skate, is a poorly known species of fish discovered in 2004 during a study of bottom ichthyofauna aboard the Norwegian RV G.O. Sars, where four species were identified, including A. jensieni.
Aega psora is a species of isopod crustacean that parasitises a number of fish species in the North Atlantic. It is a serious ectoparasite of larger species of fish, particularly when they are injured.
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having to adapt to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
Eudactylina corrugata is a species of parasitic copepod found on the little skate and the thorny skate that is only known from St. Andrews, New Brunswick and Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Amblyraja reversa, commonly known as the reversed skate, is a deepwater skate known from a single specimen. Based on the single specimen, its range is predicted to include at least the Western Indian Ocean, specifically the Baluchistan coast in the Arabian 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.
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