Notoraja hesperindica, Western blue skate

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Notoraja hesperindica Weigmann, Séret & Stehmann, 2021

Western blue skate
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Image of Notoraja hesperindica (Western blue skate)
Notoraja hesperindica
Male picture by Weigmann, S.

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

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Arhynchobatidae (Softnose skates)
Etymology: Notoraja: Greek, noton = back + Latin, raja = fish, Raja sp. (Ref. 45335);  hesperindica: Name from combination of Greek 'hesper' for westerly, and Latin 'indicus' for Indian, referring to the distribution of the new species..

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

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 1230 - 1600 m (Ref. 123885). Deep-water

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

Western Indian Ocean: off southern Mozambique and off northwestern Madagascar.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 53.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 123885)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

This species is distinguished from most of its congeners by the intense dark blue-grayish coloration and large dorsolateral tail thorns. It is further distinct with the following characters: disc evenly inverse heart-shaped, with broadly rounded outer corners; body length to mid-cloaca is shorter than tail length from mid-cloaca; snout very long direct preorbital length 15.1-16.7% TL.; orbits are relatively small, horizontal diameter 0.9-1.2 times interorbital width; dorsal surface nearly completely devoid of denticles except the trunk area close to pectoral axils where bands of few denticles start and continue as more pronounced rows on tail; anterior tail with several short rows of spinules and a rather regular row of small spinules on lateral tail; one small preorbital thorn on each side; a regular or irregular row of about 16-25 small median tail thorns; lateral tail with 2 irregular rows of about 15-25 dorsolateral thorns that are much larger than the median thorns. Colouration when fresh, the dorsal disc plain intense dark blue, somewhat mottled blackish-brown in the orbital and snout regions, pelvic fins and claspers medium brownish blue, tail dark blackish blue; the ventral surface dark (Ref. 123885).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

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

Weigmann, S., B. Séret and M.F.W. Stehmann, 2021. Notoraja hesperindica sp. nov., a new colorful deep-sea softnose skate (Elasmobranchii, Rajiformes, Arhynchobatidae) and first generic record from the western Indian Ocean. Mar. Biodiv. 51(2)[35]:online. (Ref. 123885)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 06 January 2022

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
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Ecology
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Common names
Synonyms
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Predators
Ecotoxicology
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Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
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Length-weight
Length-length
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Morphometrics
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Larvae
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Ciguatera
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Otoliths
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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 | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = No PD50 data   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00550 (0.00273 - 0.01106), b=3.10 (2.93 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100).