Breviraja sp.
Diagnosis: snout very short and bluntly pointed; disc evenly heart-shaped, with convex front margins and broadly rounded outer corners; tail distinctly longer than body. Upper surface of disc and tail entirely spinulose, with fine prickles, those on sides of tail stronger. A row of 6 thorns along inner margin of eye; 2 thorns on nape and a median row of about 50 smaller thorns from shoulder to tail, but ending at two-thirds down tail and far in front of first dorsal fin; dorsal fins separate, with very short bases, conspicuously high and narrow, tail behind second dorsal fin extremely long, about twice the length of the combined dorsal fin bases; underside smooth. Colour: upper surface uniformly brown; underside the same. Size: single adult male 35 cm TL.
Habitat: benthic, at 614 m (single record). Food: no data. Reproduction: oviparous, no further data.
Distribution: on the slope off northern Spain (43° 47' N, 06° W), a single specimen caught by the Travailleur in 1882. |
