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Dipturus springeri (Wallace, 1967)

Description

An all-dark longnose skate with its underside uniformly roughened by small denticles; snout acutely pointed and greatly elongated, and tail moderately stout and not conspicuously swollen; pectoral disc angular and broader than in other longnose skates in the area; no nape thorn (Ref. 5578). Dark grey to blackish above and below, ventral mucous pores black (Ref. 5578).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Elasmobranchii

Order: Rajiformes

Family: Rajidae

Genus: Dipturus

Species: Dipturus springeri (Wallace, 1967)

Climate Zone

  • bathydemersal

    • Location

  • Southeast Atlantic and Western Indian Ocean: in scattered localities from Lüderitz, Namibia round the Cape (South Africa) to central Mozambique; also off Madagascar and Kenya; also found off India and Oman (Ref. 114953).

    • Biology

    Inhabits the outer shelf and upper slope (Ref. 5578). Rarely caught, probably inhabits hard bottoms that are seldom trawled (Ref. 114953). Feeds on bony fish, crabs and squid (Ref. 5578, Ref. 114953). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Eggs have horn-like projections on the shell (Ref. 205). Males reaches maturity at 125-135 cm TL, females at 170-190 cm TL. Smallest known specimen at 27 cm TL (Ref. 114953) Probably caught by hake trawlers (Ref. 5578).

    Habitat

    bathydemersal