Richardson's Skate, Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick 1961)

Other Names: Deepsea Skate, Richardson’s Ray

Richardson's Skate, Bathyraja richardsoni, on a seamount about 100 nautical miles off the southern coast of Tasmania. Source: CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial

Summary:

A large uniform grey to brown skate with a diamond-shaped disc that is deeply incised behind the eyes, and pelvic fins that noticeably protrude and are positioned almost wholly behind the disc. Richardson's Skate lacks large thorns on its disc and on the anterior part of its tail. Mature males have prominent alar thorns on the outer dorsal edges of the pectoral fins, and very long claspers.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2023, Bathyraja richardsoni in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2737

Richardson's Skate, Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick 1961)

More Info

Distribution	Seamounts south of Tasmania, including the South Tasman Rise, and off south-western Western Australia. Elsewhere the species occurs in New Zealand and the North Atlantic. This bathydemersal species inhabits the continental slope, submarine rises, and deepwater plains at depths to about 3000 m.
Features	Disc diamond-shaped, deeply incised behind eyes; pelvic fin noticeably protruding, positioned almost wholly behind disc; head broadly triangular; snout pointed; mouth very wide, eyes far apart; snout length/interorbital distance ratio 1.2-1.7; dorsal fins joined, with no gap or intervening thorn; tail very short, 0.7-0.8 times body length; no large thorns on disc; mid-dorsal row of 15-20 thorns on tail only; upper surface entirely covered in fine spinules; lower surface with fine spinules covering snout, abdomen, and underside of tail.
Colour	Uniform brownish-grey above; ventral surface similar with pale markings along midline, on pelvic fins, and underside of tail.
Feeding	Feeds mostly on fishes, and also consumes some crustaceans.
Biology	Females first mature at 159-174 cm TL; males at 120-142 cm TL. An oviparous species (egg layer), with the young born at 18.2−24.5 cm TL.
Species Citation	Raja richardsoni Garrick 1961, Trans. Roy. Soc. N. Z. 88(4): 746. Type locality: South of Cape Palliser, Cook Strait, New Zealand, 47°07'S, 174°57'E.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2023
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Richardson's Skate, Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick 1961)

References

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Henry, L.A., Stehmann, M.F., De Clippele, L., Findlay, H.S., Golding, N. & Roberts, J.M. 2016. Seamount egg-laying grounds of the deep-water skate Bathyraja richardsoni. Journal of Fish Biology 89(2): 1473-1481 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13041

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Orlov, A.M. 2011. Record of a tailless Richardson's ray Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick, 1961) (Rajiformes: Arhynchobatidae) caught off the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 6(3): 232-236

Patterson, H. & Mazur, K. 2014. South Tasman Rise Trawl Fishery, pp. 281-285 in Georgeson, L., Stobutzki, I. & Curtotti, R. (eds) Fishery status reports 2013-14. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.

Stehmann, M.F.W. 2005. Bathyraja ishiharai n. sp., a new deep-water skate from the eastern Indian Ocean on the Naturalist Plateau off southwestern Australia (Elasmobranchii, Rajiformes, Rajidae). Journal of Ichthyology 45, suppl. 1: S39-S57.

Stehmann, M.F.W. & Merrett, N.R. 2001. First record of advanced embryos and egg capsules of Bathyraja skates from the deep north-eastern Atlantic. Journal of Fish Biology 59: 338-349.

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Tempelman, W. 1973. First records, description, distribution, and notes on the biology of Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick) from the Northwest Atlantic. Journal of Fisheries Research Board of Canada 30: 1831-1840.

Templeman, W. 1973. The skate, Raja richardsoni Garrick 1961, assigned to Bathyraja. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 30: 1729-1732

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