Common Name
Raspthorn Sandskate
Year Described
Philippi, 1857
Identification
Disk 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 with sparse denticles in juveniles but becomes smooth with age.. Ventrum quite smooth. Multiple orbital thorns in a crescent shape around each orbit. No scapular thorn patch but a single thorn usually present. There are a few nuchal thorns on midline. There are several rows of weak thorns running from mid-back to dorsal fin (median row weak with no groove and beginning at pelvic origin). Tail rather slender and slightly longer than disk length, with 1 median and 2-4 lateral rows of thorns. Caudal fin weakly developed. Dorsal fins are paired far back on tail, very close together, and very small. Pelvic fin with two portions separated with a deep notch. Claspers large. Mouth narrow. Nasal flaps broad with fringes. Teeth are conical and sharp (33-47 in upper jaw).
Color
Uniformly dark brown with indistinct pale and dark spots but no obvious pattern. Belly pale.
Size
Maximum size to 50cm TL.
Habitat
Coastal waters to deeper slopes (30-450m).
Range
Well known from coastal Chile but possibly occurs in and around the Strait of Magellan and S. 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
Occurrence of this species in Atlantic Patagonia is suspected but not confirmed. This is much smoother than Psammobatis rudis.