Raja rhina

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Raja rhina
Raja rhina.jpg

Raja rhina

Systematics
Subclass : Plate gill (Elasmobranchii)
without rank: Stingray (batoidea)
Order : Rajiformes
Family : Real rays (Rajidae)
Genre : Raja
Type : Raja rhina
Scientific name
Raja rhina
Jordan & Gilbert , 1880

Raja rhina is a representative of the real rays (Rajidae), which occurs in the northeastern Pacific on the west coast of North America from the Navarin Canyon in the Bering Strait and the Aleutian island of Unalaska to the level of the Isla de Cedros off the coast of Lower California .

features

Raja rhina is 1.40 meters long and has an unusually pointed rostrum which, when viewed from above, gives the whole animal the appearance of a broad arrowhead and which is why it is called "Longnose skate" in North America. The leading edge of the body disc is concave inward. There is a row of twenty sharp thorns on the center of the tail. One or two more thorns are located behind the eyes, each with a further row of thorns on the inner edge of the eye. The dorsal fin is small and is located far back on the tail, the caudal fin is reduced to a low crest. There is a fleshy ridge on each side of the tail. The pelvic fins are very deeply incised. The top of Raja rhina is brown with a dark eye spot on each pectoral fin base and possibly some light spots behind. The ventral side is muddy, bluish, gray or light brown with small brown spots on the front part.

Way of life

Raja rhina lives at depths of nine to less than 1000 meters on sandy and silty sea floors. It often digs itself completely into the ground. Like all real rays it is egg-laying ( oviparous ). The eggs are rough, elongated horn capsules that are 9.4 to 13 cm long and 5.7 to 7.7 cm wide and have stiff, pointed horns at the corners.

literature

  • Eschmeyer, Herald, Hamann: Pacific Coast Fishes , Peterson Field Guides, ISBN 0-395-33188-9

Web links

Commons : Raja rhina  - collection of images, videos and audio files