Eastern Looseskin Skate, Insentiraja laxipella (Yearsley & Last 1992)
An Eastern Looseskin Skate, Insentiraja laxipella, from the southern Coral Sea, east of Curtis Island, Queensland, June 2017, depth 1050 m. Source: Rob Zugaro / Museums Victoria. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A rare bluish-grey skate with velvety skin mostly lacking thorns, a somewhat heart-shaped disc, a long slender tail, and no dorsal fins. The Eastern Looseskin Skate has a flexible snout tipped with a fleshy lobe, greyish-brown pelvic fins with long anterior lobes, and an indistinct caudal fin.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Insentiraja laxipella in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4288
Eastern Looseskin Skate, Insentiraja laxipella (Yearsley & Last 1992)
More Info
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Distribution |
Endemic to the continental slope in the Coral Sea from north-east of Diamond Islets off Cairns, to southern Queensland. |
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Features |
Vertebrae (abdominal) 24-26, tail (94-95); Pectoral-fin radials, 64-66; Upper jaw tooth rows 32-39. Snout length 3.7-5.3 times orbit length; orbit small, 1-1.3 in interorbital space. Mouth wide, nasal flaps broadly lobed. Skin flabby, upper disc and tail covered in fine denticles; thorns absent except for a patch of scales on the pectoral fins (alar patch) in males; ventral surface with loose almost transparent smooth skin. Tail very long, slender, about circular in cross-section, length 1.2-1.4 times precloacal length; lateral folds well-developed, widening towards tail tip. Pelvic-fin margin deeply notched with long anterior lobes. Caudal fin obscure, dorsal fin absent. |
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Biology |
This species is known from very few specimens and nothing is known of its biology. |
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Etymology |
The specific name laxipella is derived from the Latin laxus (= loose) and pellis (= skin), in reference to the characteristically flabby skin of the ventral surface. |
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Species Citation |
Pavoraja (Incentiraja) laxipella Yearsley & Last 1992, Copeia 1992(3): 844, figs 1-2. Type locality: Coral Sea north-east of Diamond Islets, QLD [16°55´S, 151°34´E]. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2020 |
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Resources |
Eastern Looseskin Skate, Insentiraja laxipella (Yearsley & Last 1992)
References
Huveneers, C. & Last, P.R. 2015. Insentiraja laxipella. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T161390A68630579. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T161390A68630579.en. Downloaded on 26 June 2017.
Last, P.R. & Compagno, L.J.V. 1999. Families Rajidae, Arhynchobatidae, Anacanthobatidae. pp. 1452-1466 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068 (as Notoraja laxipella)
Last, P.R. & McEachran, J.D. 2006. Notoraja hirticauda, a new species of skate (Chondrichthyes: Rajoidei) from the south-eastern Indian Ocean. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 63(1): 65-75. PDF open access
Last, P.R., Stehmann, M.F.W., Séret, B. & Weigmann, S. 2016. 20. Softnose Skates. Family Arhynchobatidae pp. 364-472. In: Last, P.R., White, W.T., de Carvalho, M.R., Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds) Rays of the World. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 800 pp.
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. (as Pavoraja sp. A)
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.
Last, P.R. & Yearsley, G.K. 2002. Zoogeography and relationships of Australasian skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Journal of Biogeography 29(12): 1627-1641.
McEachran, J.D. & Dunn, K.A. 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2): 271-290 (as Notoraja laxipella)
Weigmann, S. 2016. Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. Journal of Fish Biology 88(3): 837-1037 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12874 Abstract
Yearsley, G.K. & Last, P.R. 1992. Pavoraja (Insentiraja) laxipella, a new subgenus and species of skate (Chondrichthyes: Rajoidei). Copeia 1992(3): 839-850.
