Common Name
Freckle Sandskate
Year Described
McEachran, 1983
Identification
Disk round to heart-shaped with broad, rounded pectoral fins and a weakly concave anterior margin of disk (more concave in males). Snout short and soft with convex lateral edges. Conical snout tip slightly projects and sometimes has a filamentous tip. Skin rough in juveniles but becomes more smooth on center of pectoral fins in adults with larger denticles around the margins. Ventrum quite smooth. Multiple orbital thorns in a crescent shape around each orbit. Patches of scapular thorns. A few nuchal thorns on midline. A strong line of median thorns flanked by 1-3 more rows of thorns depending on age. Tail rather slender and up to 1.5 times disk length, with several rows of thorns. Caudal fin low but well developed. Dorsal fins are paired far back on tail, very close together, and very small. Pelvic fin with two portions separated with a distinct notch. Claspers large. Mouth narrow. Nasal flaps broad with fringes. Teeth are conical and sharp (35-49 in upper jaw).
Color
Dorsum medium brown with numerous small black spots that form close-set rosettes. Tail speckled with black and faintly banded. Belly white.
Size
Maximum size to 55cm TL.
Habitat
Coastal waters from 30-170m. Benthic.
Range
Southwestern Atlantic: S. Brazil to N. Argentina.
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
This is the most strongly speckled of the other large Psammobatis species which tend to have larger blotches or no obvious pattern.