Common Name
Cuphead Skate
Year Described
Norman, 1937
Identification
Nuchal median thorns: None in adults
Tail median thorns: 16-24 (up to 45 in juveniles extending onto trunk)
Disk diamond shaped and mostly smooth (some prickles on disk margins, median area, and tail). Median thorn row restricted to tail in adults. Tail median thorn row flanked with stripes of weak spinules. Snout quite long in adults. Anterior margin of pectoral fins concave. Ocular and scapular thorns absent. Alar thorns number 20-24. Interdorsal thorn usually absent in adults. Claspers long and narrow with enlarged tips. Teeth are conical and sharp.
Color
Upper disk gray to brown with indistinct darker markings. A pale ocelli is often present on the pectoral fin base. Underside whitish with a gray periphery. Underside of tail white. Sides of rostrum with transparent areas.
Size
Maximum size to 75cm DW.
Habitat
Caught on the continental shelf from 102-925m (usually between 250-300m). Juveniles found in shallower waters.
Range
Southwest Atlantic: Uruguay to Argentina and the Falkland Islands.
References
Bizikov, V., Arkhipkin A.I., Laptikhovsky VV., Pompert J.H.W. 2004. Identification guide and biology of the Falkland skates. Stanley, Falkland Islands: Fisheries Department, Falkland Island Government. 11 p.
Last, P.R., White, W.T., Carvalho, M.R. de, Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W & Naylor, G.J.P (Eds.). 2016. Rays of the World. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.