| Bigelow's ray | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Family: | Rajidae |
| Genus: | Rajella |
| Species: | R. bigelowi |
| Binomial name | |
| Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
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 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]
Like 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]
Bigelow's ray feeds on small benthic crustaceans. [11]
Bigelow'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]
Carcharias is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark.
Rajella is a genus of skate found deeper than 150 m (490 ft) in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Rhinopristiformes is an order of rays, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks, containing shovelnose rays and allied groups.
The blonde ray or blonde skate is a species of ray fish in the family Rajidae.
The spotted ray or spotted skate is a species of skate in the family Rajidae.
Scopelogadus beanii, or Bean's bigscale, is a species of ridgehead fish. It is named for Tarleton Hoffman Bean.
Sciadonus galatheae is a species of fish in the family Aphyonidae.
The blackfin waryfish is a species of fish in the family Notosudidae (waryfish).
The black seasnail is a species of fish in the family Liparidae (snailfish).
The large-eye snaggletooth, also called the straightline dragonfish or Antarctic snaggletooth, is a species of fish in the family Stomiidae.
The spearsnouted grenadier is a species of fish in the family Macrouridae.
Schnakenbeck's searsid is a species of fish in the family Platytroctidae (tubeshoulders).
The salmon smooth-head, also called the deepsea slickhead, is a species of fish in the family Alepocephalidae.
Cocco's lantern fish, also called Gemellar's lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish.
The Arctic rockling, also called the silver rockling or Arctic threebeard, is a species of fish in the family Lotidae.
Sudis hyalina is a species of fish in the family Paralepididae (barracudinas).
Agassiz' smooth-head is a species of fish in the family Alepocephalidae. It is named for the scientist and engineer Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), who commanded the 1899 survey aboard the USS Albatross on which the fish was discovered.
The deepwater ray, also called the deepwater skate or abyssal skate, is a species of skate in the family Rajidae.
Stomias boa ferox is a subspecies of deep-sea fish in the family Stomiidae.
The spiny scorpionfish is a subspecies of fish in the family Scorpaenidae.
Data related to Rajella bigelowi at Wikispecies