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Rajella leoparda (von Bonde & Swart, 1923)

Leopard skate
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Rajella leoparda   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Rajella leoparda (Leopard skate)
Rajella leoparda
Picture by Le Noury, P.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Etymology: Rajella: Latin, raja, -ae = a sting ray (Raja sp.) (Ref. 45335).

Issue
Specific name amended to R. leoparda in accordance with ICZN Article 34.2 by Weigmann et al., 2014 (Ref.96993).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 130 - 1920 m (Ref. 106604). Deep-water; - 36°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: off eastern and western South Africa to off Mauritania

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 95.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 106604)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Large skate with a moderately long snout, small eyes, and a flat disc; tail about as long as body; small inconspicuous, light thorns on upper surface including snout (Ref. 5578). Medium grey to brownish dorsally, often with dark spots; white or mottled with dusky patches ventrally (Ref. 5578).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in deeper shelf and slope waters (Ref. 4426). Feed on bottom crustaceans, dragonets, rattails, hake, lanternfish, sea pens, cuttlefish and polychaete worms (Ref. 5578). Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats (Ref. 205). Egg capsules are 7.4 cm long and 7.4 cm wide (Ref. 41249). Caught by hake trawlers (Ref. 5578).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous, paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2):271-290. (Ref. 27314)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 31 August 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.1 - 11.9, mean 6.9 °C (based on 47 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00309 (0.00191 - 0.00501), b=3.33 (3.20 - 3.46), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.63 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (58 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.71 [1.80, 49.75] mg/100g; Iron = 0.404 [0.092, 1.262] mg/100g; Protein = 16.5 [13.7, 19.1] %; Omega3 = 0.644 [0.200, 2.420] g/100g; Selenium = 14.5 [3.8, 46.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 13 [3, 56] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.299 [0.147, 0.566] mg/100g (wet weight);