Description

A striking two-toned longnose skate, medium brown above and abruptly dark grey below, with a large, conspicuous, dark brown blotch on the upper base of each pectoral fin (Ref. 5578). Snout moderately elongated and bluntly triangular, and tail stout, not conspicuously swollen and about equal to body length; pectoral disc with broadly rounded corners and smooth underside without denticles; thorns at nape and along midline of back and tail to 1st dorsal fin, nape spine enormous in young (Ref. 5578). Hatchlings and juveniles with wide-spaced black spots on upper disc, inconspicuous or lost in adolescents and adults; adults sometimes with numerous small white spots (Ref. 5578). Underside with numerous black pores (Ref. 5578).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Elasmobranchii

Order: Rajiformes

Family: Rajidae

Genus: Dipturus

Species: Dipturus pullopunctatus (Smith, 1964)

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Found on soft bottoms of the outer shelf and upper slope (Ref. 5578). Feeds on bony fish, crabs, shrimp, mysids, mantis shrimp, euphausiids, bivalves and cuttlefish (Ref. 5578). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Eggs have horn-like projections on the shell (Ref. 205). Males reaches maturity at 88-96 cm TL, females possibly slightly larger off Western than Southern coast of South Africa; hatching size at ca. 19 cm TL (Ref. 114953). Commonly taken by hake trawlers (Ref. 5578). Extremely slippery when caught (Ref. 5578).

Habitat

demersal