Black legskate

📖 Overview

Found on the slope . Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother . Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats . Egg capsule measures 36.0 mm long and 19.0 mm wide . Taken only by deep-trawling research vessels .

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

This medium sized species grows to about 42.9 cm TL and has the following set of diagnostic characters: disc 0.9-1.1 times as wide as long and with rounded outer corners, it is extremely depressed pear-shaped to broadly inverse heart-shaped (in adult male); snout angle 85-106° and larger in juveniles; snout terminally expanded as a rostral lobe that is 9-12% of preorbital snout length; further juveniles with a short, thin rostral filament; narrow interorbital distance, 2-3% of TL; inner margin of posterior pelvic lobe fused along its entire length to root of tail; length of tail from mid-vent about equal to body length from tip of rostral lobe to mid-vent in adults, but 1.5 times body length in juveniles; surface of upper and lower disc and tail entirely naked except for 2 longitudinal rows of alar thorns in adult male; the tail with 2 lateral rows of fleshy, tubular papillae; colour of upper and lower surfaces dark grayish-brown, but ventral surface somewhat darker; upper jaw with 18=26 tooth rows; monospondylous vertebral centra 25-29; scapulocoracoid subrectangular, the rear corner sharply marked; large oval anterior fenestra no anterior bridge, one very large oval postdorsal and 5 minute to small postventral fenestrae; pelvic girdle with massive ischiopubic bar with straight to weakly concave anterior and deeply concave posterior contour; prepelvic processes are very long and inclined outwards, their length from axis of pelvic girdle maximal width 3.9-5.3 times median thickness of ischiopubic bar .: other; Cross section: flattened.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Black legskate is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother .

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 1000 - 1725 m . Deep-water; 15°S - 30°S Indian Ocean: off off Mozambique and Madagascar.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

Scientific Synonyms

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 1 records indexed .

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