Rajella fyllae is a species of skate in the family Rajidae.[3][4]

Rajella fyllae
Illustration of a young female Raja fyllae by Lütken, 1887
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Rajidae
Genus: Rajella
Species:
R. fyllae
Binomial name
Rajella fyllae
Lütken, 1887
Synonyms[2]
  • Raja fyllae Lütken, 1887
  • Raja fyllae lipacantha Jensen, 1905

Name

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The scientific name fyllae refers to the ship HDMS Fylla, from where the holotype was collected by the Fylla scientific expeditions of 1884 and 1886 to Greenland.[5]

It is sometimes called the round ray or round skate,[6] but those names are also used for the family Urotrygonidae or the genera Heliotrygon and Irolita.[7][8] The name Fylla's ray is also used, perhaps by writers who thought that "Fylla" was the name of a person.[9][10]

Distribution

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The round ray lives in the North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It is a benthic fish, found in depths of 147–2,055 m (482–6,742 ft), typically 300–800 m (980–2,620 ft); in cold deeper continental shelf waters, 3–5.5 °C (37–42 °F).[11][12]

Description

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Illustration of an adult male by Lütken, 1898

Like all rays, the round ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. Its maximum length is 60 cm (2.0 ft). Its dorsal (upper) surface is grey or brown, with the lower surface light gray or fawn, with dark patches on the pelvic fins and axils of pectoral fins.[13]

Behaviour

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Rajella fyllae feeds on mysids, copepods, crustaceans and amphipods.[14]

In breeding, there is a distinct pairing of the male and female, with an "embrace." It is oviparous, the eggs being oblong with stiff pointed "horns" in the corners; they are deposited in sandy or muddy flats.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species".
  2. ^ "Raja montagui". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  3. ^ Hamlett, William C. (October 14, 2011). Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Chondrichthyes: Sharks, Batoids, and Chimaeras, Volume 3. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439856000 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Ebert, David A.; Dando, Marc (December 8, 2020). Field Guide to Sharks, Rays & Chimaeras of Europe and the Mediterranean. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691211824 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Watkins, Michael; Beolens, Bo (January 30, 2015). Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary. Pelagic Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781784270377 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Hamlett, William C. (May 21, 1999). Sharks, Skates, and Rays: The Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801860485 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Rajella fyllae: Kulka, D.W., Anderson, B., Derrick, D., Pacoureau, N. & Dulvy, N.K." 2019. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T197086A22515038.en. S2CID 242570192. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ Ebert, David A.; Sulikowski, James (December 25, 2008). Biology of Skates. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781402097034 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Marine Scotland Science Report 03/10 - Deepwater Trawl Survey Manual
  10. ^ Neat, Francis; Campbell, Neil (September 20, 2011). "Demersal fish diversity of the isolated Rockall plateau compared with the adjacent west coast shelf of Scotland: FISH DIVERSITY OF THE ROCKALL PLATEAU". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 104 (1): 138–147. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01699.x.
  11. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella fyllae (Lütken, 1887)". www.marinespecies.org.
  12. ^ Carrier, Jeffrey C.; Musick, John A.; Heithaus, Michael R. (March 9, 2010). Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology, and Conservation. CRC Press. ISBN 9781420080483 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Rajella fyllae, Round ray". www.fishbase.se.
  14. ^ Last, Peter; Naylor, Gavin; Séret, Bernard; White, William; Stehmann, Matthias; Carvalho, Marcelo de (December 1, 2016). Rays of the World. Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643109155 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Rajella fyllae (Lütken, 1887)". www.marinespecies.org.
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