Raja mauritaniensis

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Raja mauritaniensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Rajidae
Genus: Raja
Species:
R. mauritaniensis
Binomial name
Raja mauritaniensis
White & Fricke, 2021
Synonyms[1]
  • Raja africana Capapé, 1977
  • Raja maderensis (non Lowe, 1838)

Raja mauritaniensis, commonly known as the African ray, is a species of ray in the family Rajidae.[1] It is found at depths of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Mauritania and Tunisia.[1]

This species was described in 1977, but the currently used scientific name is a homonym, preoccupied by Raja africana Bloch & Schneider, 1801, which is a synonym of Urogymnus asperrimus. Consequently, a replacement scientific name is needed for the African ray.[1][2][3] Furthermore, the validity of the African ray has been questioned, with some suggesting that its type specimen may be an aberrant R. miraletus or R. straeleni.[2][3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2017). "Raja mauritaniensis" in FishBase. July 2017 version.
  2. ^ a b Weigman, S. (2016). "Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity". Journal of Fish Biology. 88 (3): 837–1037. doi:10.1111/jfb.12874. PMID 26860638.
  3. ^ a b Last, P.R.; Weigman, S.; Yang, L. (2016). "Changes to the nomenclature of the skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes)". In Last, P.R.; Yearsley, G.R. (eds.). Rays of the World: Supplementary Information. CSIRO Special Publication. pp. 11–34. ISBN 9781486308019.