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Speckled Skate
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Speckled Skate

Raja polystigma

Raja polystigma, also known as the speckled skate, is a species of hardnose skate.

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From the article Raja polystigma on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section

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Description

The speckled skate has a short and blunt snout with a slightly pronounced tip. Its dorsal surface has a greyish to greenish-brown colouration with many dark and pale spots, and it is mostly smooth in texture. The ventral surface is whitish with darker disc margins, and is smooth apart from the snout and anterior edge of the disc, which have prickles. It has a median row with about 22-28 thorns up to the first dorsal fin, and one interdorsal thorn. Adult males have both alar and malar thorns. The upper and lower jaws have between 50-60 rows. The maximum total length of a speckled skate has been measured as 71 centimetres (28 in).

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Range & habitat

The speckled skate lives in the Mediterranean Sea. It has been observed to occur at depths between 100–400 metres (330–1,310 ft), with a possible range of 10–650 metres (33–2,133 ft). It lives over seabeds of soft substrate. It has been observed on iNaturalist on the areas of the sea near Algeria, Croatia, Barcelona in Spain, and Marseille in France.

Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Raja polystigma in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 111528.