Raja stellulata
| Raja stellulata | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raja stellulata |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Raja stellulata | ||||||||||||
| Jordan & Gilbert , 1880 |
Raja stellulata is a species of the real rays (Rajidae). It occurs in the northern Pacific from the Bering Strait to northern Baja California .
features
Raja stellulata becomes a maximum of 76 centimeters long. Its top is gray-brown and patterned with numerous dark spots of various sizes. A weakly visible eye spot is often present on the base of the pectoral fin. A row of strong, sharp thorns extends along the middle of the back. They start just behind the eyes and extend to the two small dorsal fins that lie far back on the tail. A thorn is located between the dorsal fins. The thorns above the shoulder girdle are particularly large. Another row of thorns is located above each eye and on the edge of the pectoral fins from their outer tips to the tip of the rostrum . The thorns are larger in the males. On both sides of the tail there is a fleshy keel that becomes more and more pronounced towards the rear. The caudal fin is very small. The pelvic fins are large and deeply indented.
Way of life
Raja stellulata lives at depths of 18 to 730 meters. It feeds on fish and crustaceans and 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 7.1 to 7.8 cm long and 5.5 to 7.0 cm wide and have long horns at the corners.
literature
- Eschmeyer, Herald, Hamann: Pacific Coast Fishes , Peterson Field Guides, ISBN 0-395-33188-9
Web links
- Raja stellulata on Fishbase.org (English)
- Raja stellulata inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Robinson, HJ, Ebert, DA & Cailliet, GM, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2013.