Common Name
Fanfin Skate
Year Described
Bigelow & Schroeder, 1954
Identification
Median thorns: 26-32
Disk heart shaped with skin quite rough with denticles dorsally. Ventrum quite smooth. Tail with enlarged granular denticles in addition to the median band. Tail finfold restricted to end of tail. Snout moderate, with straight to slightly convex anterior margins. Snout tip filamentous. Anterior margin of pectoral fins concave. There are 4 ocular thorns, around 3 nuchal thorns continuous with median band, and 2 scapular thorns. Tail longer than disk and very slender. Caudal fin well developed with two lobes. Dorsal fins are absent. Pelvic fins with a single lobe, greatly expanded laterally, and flattened on the rear margin. Claspers undescribed. Teeth are conical and sharp (33).
Color
Dorsum gray to brown, with a fairly dense spotting of whitish spots that become more diffuse on the disk edges. Ventrum gray with white around mouth. Body pores dark above and below.
Size
Maximum size to 58cm TL.
Habitat
Captured on soft bottoms on continental slopes (400-575m).
Range
Known from scattered records in the Caribbean Sea from Florida to Panama and the Antilles.
References
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.
Other Notes
The only known skate with a combination of a single lobed pelvic fin and no dorsal fins.