Anacanthobatis ori (ORI legskate)

(Wallace, 1967)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Chondrichthyes > Elasmobranchii > Batoidei > Rajoidei > Rajidae > Anacanthobatidae

Anacanthobatis ori (ORI legskate) [Illustration by Ann Hecht ©]

Identification

A smooth-skinned, dark legskate with a long slender tail, less than body length and without dorsal fins. Snout angular with a broad-based filament, pectoral disk with rounded corners. No large thorns or denticles on disk or tail except alar spines of adult males. Colour uniform grey-black or brownish above, lighter below.

Size

To at least 21 cm TL.

Range

East coast off central Mozambique; also Madagascar.

Habitat

Slope on bottom at 1000 to 1725 m. Biology Unknown. Rare, more specimens wanted.

Human Impact

Only taken by deep-trawling research vessels to date.

Text by Leonard J.V. Compagno, David A. Ebert and Malcolm J. Smale