Common Name
Bullis Skate
Year Described
Bigelow & Schroeder, 1962
Identification
Disk spade-shape with a straight to concave anterior margin. Snout long (19-20% TL). Pectoral fins bluntly rounded. Anterior pelvic fin lobe about 80% as long as the posterior lobe. Tail is 46-50% of TL and has skin folds on both sides. There are two dorsal fins, separated from each other by a distance one half of first dorsal base. The caudal fin consists of a moderately developed lobe. Upper jaw with 31-36 tooth rows.
Body is smooth above and below, without dermal denticles. There are 2 pre-orbital, 1 post-orbital, and one nuchal thorn on the head. No scapular thorns. No thorns on midline of body anterior to pelvic base. Tail with a single row of 12-15 thorns. A single thorn present between the dorsal fins. Ventral surface without dermal denticles except for around snout and anterior disk margin.
Color
Uniformly medium brown, without markings. Sides of snout slightly paler. Ventral surface mostly dark, with darkened ampullar pores on snout.
Size
Maximum size to 77cm TL and 48cm disk width.
Habitat
Demersal from 183-549m.
Range
Scattered records from the W. and SE Gulf of Mexico, off Nicaragua, the Lesser Antilles, and from Colombia to Suriname and Fr. Guiana.
References
Compagno, L.J.V. 2002. Sharks. In: Carpenter, K.E. (Editor) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of The Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, mollusks, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. ASIH Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.