Abstract
The generic status of many skate species has been revised during the past six decades by various authors having introducednew diagnostic morphological and anatomical characters. As a consequence, the original family Rajidae and its very di-verse type genus Raja Linnaeus, 1758 have been split into several families, subfamilies, genera and subgenera which werein several cases provisionally established due to the lack of specific material required. However, quite a number of speciesoriginally in Raja remained incompletely studied and still assigned to Raja sensu lato, because, e.g., mature males werenot yet available for studies of their relevant clasper features. One of these species is the northern North Atlantic Rajalintea Fries, 1839 which Stehmann (1970, 1973) and Stehmann and Bürkel (1984) could not assign definitively to the up-dated diagnosis of any revised rajid genus, because a mature male was not available. McEachran and Miyake (1990) andMcEachran and Dunn (1998) reallocated Raja lintea to the subgenus/genus Dipturus Rafinesque, 1810, respectively, with-out evidence or explanation given.Since a mature male of R. lintea became available, the author has reinvestigated the species, presents here its so farunknown diagnostic characters of clasper morphology and skeleton, scapulocoracoid and pelvis, and assigns the species on this basis to the genus Rajella Stehmann, 1970.References
Backman, G. (1913) Die Bauchflosse der Selachier. Erste Abteilung. Die Bauchflosse der Batoidei. Kungl. Svenska Vetenskabsakademiens Handlingar, 50(7), 1–141, plates 1 to 11.
Bigelow, H.B. and Schroeder, W.C. (1953) Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Part two. Sawfishes, Guitarfishes, Skates and Rays, Chimaeroids. Memoirs Sears Foundation of Marine Research, I(2), xv+588 pp.
Clark, R.S. (1926). Rays and skates, a revision of the European species. Fisheries, Scotland, Scientific Investigations, 1, 1–66.
Clark, R.S (1929–1932) Selachii, Hypotemata, Rajidae. In: Joubin, L. (Ed.). Faune Ichthyologique de L’Atlantique Nord, 2, CIEM Copenhagen.
Dolganov, V. (1985) Raja (Rajella) kukujevi sp. n. (Elasmobranchii, Rajidae) from the North-Atlantic Ridge. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 64 (2), 304–307. [In Russian, English summary.]
Ehrenbaum, E. (1927) Elasmobranchii. In: Grimpe, G and Wagler, E. (Eds,). Die Tierwelt der Nord- und Ostsee, Lieferung VII (Teil XII.e), 1–66. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig
Fries, B.F. (1839) Granskning af de vid Sverige justerna förekommande arter af Fish-Släget Raja. Kongelige svenska VetenskabsAkademie Handlingar 1838 (publ. 1839), 126–164.
Hubbs, C.L. & Ishiyama, R. (1968) Methods for the Taxonomic Study and Description of Skates (Rajidae). Copeia 1968(3), 483–491.
Hulley, P.A. (1970) An investigation of the Rajidae of the west and south coasts of southern Africa. Annals of the South African Museum, 55(4), 151–220.
Hulley, P.A. (1972) The origin, interrelationship and distribution of southern African Rajidae (Chondrichthyes, Batoidei). Annals of the South African Museum, 60(1), 1–103.
Ishiyama, R. (1958) Studies on the rajid fishes (Rajidae) found in the waters around Japan. Journal of the Shimonoseki College of Fisheries, 7 (2/3), 193–394.
Jensen, A.S. (1914) The Selachians of Greenland. In: Jungersen H.F.E. and Warming, E. (Eds.). Mindeskrift i anledning af hundredaaret for Japetus Steenstrups Fødsel, XXX, 1–40. Carlsberg Foundation Copenhagen.
Jensen, A.S. (1948) Contributions to the Ichthyofauna of Greenland 9 (Rajidae). Spolia Zoologica Musei Hauniensis IX, 27–57.
Krefft, G. (1968) Knorpelfische (Chondrichthyes) aus dem tropischen Ostatlantik. Atlantide Report No. 10, 33–76.
Krefft, G. and Stehmann, M. (1974) Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen des FFS "Walther Herwig" nach Südamerika. XXXIII. Raja (Rajella) sadowskii spec. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Batoidei, Rajidae), ein weiterer neuer Roche vom südwestatlantischen Kontinentalabhang. – Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 25(Beih. 1), 33–50.
Lütken C.F. (1898) Der Ichthyologiske Udbytte. Danish Ingolf-Expedition, 2(1), 1–38.
McEachran, J.D. & Compagno, L.J.V. (1979) A further description of Gurgesiella furvescens with comments on the interrelationships of Gurgesiellidae and Pseudorajidae (Pisces, Rajoidei). Bulletin of Marine Science, 29(4), 530–553.
McEachran, J.D. & Dunn, K.A. (1998) Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2), 271–290.
McEachran, J.D. & Miyake, T. (1990) Zoogeography and bathymetry of skates (Chondrichthyes, Rajoidei), pp. 305–326. In: Pratt, H.L. Jr., Gruber S.H. & Taniuchi, T. (Eds.), Elasmobranchs as Living Resources: Advances in the Biology, Ecology, Systematics, and the Status of the Fisheries. NOAA Technical Report NMFS 90, 518 pp.
McEachran, J.D. & Stehmann, M. (1977) Subgeneric placement of Raja bathyphila Holt & Byrne, 1908, based on anatomical characters of the clasper. Copeia 1977(1), 20–25.
Müller, J. & Henle, J. (1841) Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Verlag Veit &. Comp., Berlin, xxii+200 pp., 60 plates.
Sabaj Pérez, M.H. (Ed.) (2010) Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology: an Online Reference. Verson 2.0 (8 November 2010). Electronically accessible at http://www.asih.org/, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Washington, DC. Accessed 19 January 2011.
Stehmann, M. (1970) Vergleichend morphologische und anatomische Untersuchungen zur Neuordnung der Systematik der nordostatlantischen Rajidae (Chondrichthyes, Batoidei). Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 21(2), 73–164.
Stehmann, M. (1973) Rajidae (pp. 58–69). In: Hureau, J.C. and Monod, T. (Eds.) Check-List of the fishes of the northeastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM), vol. 1. UNESCO (2 vols).
Stehmann, M. (1978) Raja "bathyphila", eine Doppelart des Subgenus Rajella: Wiederbeschreibung von R. bathyphila Holt & Byrne, 1908 und Raja bigelowi spec. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Rajiformes, Rajidae). - Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 29(1/2), 23–58.
Stehmann, M. (1985) Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen des FFS "Walther Herwig" nach Südamerika. LXIV. Bathyraja papi-lionifera sp. n. (Pisces, Batoidea, Rajidae), eine weitere neue Rochenart aus dem Südwestatlantik vom nordargentinischen Kontinentalabhang. – Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 36(1/2), 195–211.
Stehmann, M. (1995) First and new records of skates (Chondrichthyes, Rajiformes, Rajidae) from the West African continental slope (Morocco to South Africa), with descriptions of two new species. Archive of Fishery and Marine Research, 43(1), 1–119.
Stehmann, M. & Bürkel, D.L. (1984) General remarks, explanation of terms and mode of presentation for Hypotremata (pp 151–152); Pristidae (pp 153–155); Torpedinidae (pp 159–162); Rajidae (pp 163–196); Chimaeridae (pp 212–215); Rhinochimaeridae (pp 216–218). In: Whitehead, P.J.P., Bauchot, M.-L., Hureau, J.C., Nielsen, J. & Tortonese, E. (Eds.) Fishes of the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (FNAM), vol. 1. UNESCO Paris (3 vols).
Stehmann, M.F.W., Séret, B., Costa, M.E. & Baro, J. (2008) Neoraja iberica n. sp., a new species of pygmy skate (Elasmobranchii, Rajidae) from the southern upper slope of the Iberian Peninsula (Eastern North Atlantic). Cybium. 32(1), 51–71, 2008.
Sulak, K.J., MacWhirter, P.D., Luke, K.E., Norem, A.D., Miller, J.M., Cooper, J.A. & Harris, L.E. (2009) Identification guide to skates (Family Rajidae) of the Canadian Atlantic and adjacent regions. Canandian Technical Report Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2850, viii+34 p.
Templeman, W. (1965) Rare skates of the Newfoundland and neighbouring areas. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada, 22(2), 259–279.