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Raja microocellata Montagu, 1818

Small-eyed ray
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Raja microocellata   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Raja microocellata (Small-eyed ray)
Raja microocellata
Picture by Meyer, T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Etymology: Raja: Latin, raja, -ae = a sting ray (Raja sp.) (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 100 m (Ref. 4426). Temperate; 55°N - 24°N, 16°W - 1°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: southwestern England and Ireland to Rio de Oro in Western Sahara; absent from the North Sea and the Mediterranean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 74.0, range 73 - ? cm
Max length : 87.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6014); max. published weight: 4.5 kg (Ref. 4699)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Eyes conspicuously small; dorsal fins close-set, no thorns between; upper surface predominantly spinulose, underside almost smooth in young, but head and centre of disc prickly in larger specimens; orbital thorns separate, a regular row of about 50 thorns from nape to first dorsal fin; upper surface greyish, olive to light brown with light blotches and long bands, underside white (Ref. 3167).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on sandy bottoms, from inshore waters to about 100 m in tidal areas (Ref. 3167). Feed on fishes (Ref. 3167). Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats (Ref. 205). Egg capsules are 6.6-10.0 cm long and 4.1-6.3 cm wide (Ref. 41250). About 54-61 eggs are laid by an individual in a year (Ref. 41250).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous (Ref. 3167). Paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2):271-290. (Ref. 27314)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 13 February 2006

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Life cycle
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 10.4 - 15.4, mean 12 °C (based on 138 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00468 (0.00297 - 0.00738), b=3.30 (3.17 - 3.43), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec= 54-61).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Very high vulnerability (88 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 6.33 [0.91, 111.73] mg/100g; Iron = 0.25 [0.02, 2.91] mg/100g; Protein = 17 [14, 19] %; Omega3 = 0.847 [0.342, 2.086] g/100g; Selenium = 10.4 [2.2, 54.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 6.1 [0.5, 70.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.354 [0.024, 3.858] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.