Slime skate

📖 Overview

Found on soft bottoms of the outer shelf and upper slope . Feeds on bony fish, crabs, shrimp, mysids, mantis shrimp, euphausiids, bivalves and cuttlefish . Oviparous . Eggs have horn-like projections on the shell . Males reaches maturity at 88-96 cm TL, females possibly slightly larger off Western than Southern coast of South Africa; hatching size at ca. 19 cm TL . Commonly taken by hake trawlers . Extremely slippery when caught .

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

A striking two-toned longnose skate, medium brown above and abruptly dark grey below, with a large, conspicuous, dark brown blotch on the upper base of each pectoral fin . Snout moderately elongated and bluntly triangular, and tail stout, not conspicuously swollen and about equal to body length; pectoral disc with broadly rounded corners and smooth underside without denticles; thorns at nape and along midline of back and tail to 1st dorsal fin, nape spine enormous in young . Hatchlings and juveniles with wide-spaced black spots on upper disc, inconspicuous or lost in adolescents and adults; adults sometimes with numerous small white spots . Underside with numerous black pores .: other.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Slime skate is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

Oviparous, paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk . Eggs have horn-like projections on the shell .

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; demersal; depth range 50 - 457 m . Subtropical; 26°S - 36°S, 12°E - 29°E

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

🐠 Related Species

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 2 records indexed .

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