Short tail Yellownose skate

📖 Overview

Short tail Yellownose skate (Zearaja brevicaudata), first described by Marini, 1933 is a medium-sized fish. Adults typically reach 32.40 cm in maximum length. It inhabits marine coastal and open-ocean environments. Recorded depth range: 25 to 350 metres. It occurs in Tropical waters. It feeds on a mix of small fish and invertebrates as a mid-level predator. On the IUCN Red List, it is classified as Vulnerable.

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

This relatively large species of skate with a rhombic-shaped disc is distinguished by the following set of characters: snout relatively large, 1.7-2.9 times tail length; tail short, 2.1-2.7 times in total length, with a short distance between the first gill openings, 3.42-4.19 times indirect disc length; dermal denticles mainly restricted to the rostral area, both in dorsal and ventral surfaces; denticles more conspicuous in adults, and can be absent or in less number in neonates and juveniles; tail with 3-5 rows of thorns (rarely only one); clasper relatively long and stout, 74-78% of the tail’s length in adult specimens; terminal bridge (Tb) straight towards the tip of dorsal terminal 2, and the spike is thin and does not reach the Tb; ventral terminal cartilage has a short apophysis, and its outer edge is narrow; distal tip of the axial is relatively narrow .Cross section: flattened.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Short tail Yellownose skate is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; demersal; depth range 25 - 350 m , usually 50 - 150 m . Tropical east the Beagle Channel (Argentina and Chile).

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🐠 Related Species

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