Breviraja sp.

Diagnosis: snout very short and bluntly pointed; disc evenly heart-shaped, with convex front margins and broadly rounded outer corners; tail distinctly longer than body. Upper surface of disc and tail entirely spinulose, with fine prickles, those on sides of tail stronger. A row of 6 thorns along inner margin of eye; 2 thorns on nape and a median row of about 50 smaller thorns from shoulder to tail, but ending at two-thirds down tail and far in front of first dorsal fin; dorsal fins separate, with very short bases, conspicuously high and narrow, tail behind second dorsal fin extremely long, about twice the length of the combined dorsal fin bases; underside smooth. Colour: upper surface uniformly brown; underside the same. Size: single adult male 35 cm TL.

Habitat: benthic, at 614 m (single record). Food: no data. Reproduction: oviparous, no further data.

Distribution: on the slope off northern Spain (43° 47' N, 06° W), a single specimen caught by the Travailleur in 1882.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Chondrichthyes
Superorder Hypotremata
Family Rajidae
Genus Breviraja
Species Breviraja sp.

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Not included in WoRMS database

Scientific synonyms and common names

Breviraja sp.

Synonyms:

Breviraja spec.
Raja fullonica (nec Linnaeus) Vaillant, 1888, Expéd. «Travailleur» et «Talisman», 1880-1883, Poissons: 79, pl. 4, fig. l-la. Golfe de Gascogne, 614 m. This single specimen (MNHN 83-149) is disintegrated and in bad condition, in alcohol.
Breviraja spec.: Stehmann, 1976 :100-101.

Common names:

none

Stehmann, M. 1976. Breviraja caerulea spec. nov. (Elasmobranchii, Batoidea, Rajidae); eine neue archibenthale Rochenart und zugleich ein Erstnachweis ihrer Gattung im Nordostatlantik. Arch. FischWiss. 27 (2): 97-114 fig. 1-11.

Vaillant, L. 1888. Poissons in Expéditions scientifiques du 'Travailleur' et du 'Talisman' pendant les années 1880-83. Masson, Paris, 406 p., 28 pl.

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