Cruriraja durbanensis (von Bonde & Swart, 1923)

Smoothnose Legskate

Raia durbanensis von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 11, fig. 1, pl. 22. Syntypes: (2) whereabouts unknown. Type locality: Hondeklip Bay, southwestern South Africa, southeastern Atlantic.

Local synonymy: Raia durbanensis: von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 11, fig. 1, pl. 22; Barnard, 1925: 69. Cruriraja durbanensis: Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948a: 550; Bigelow & Schroeder, 1953: 315; Bigelow & Schroeder, 1962: 199; Smith, 1964: 287; Wallace, 1967a: 7; Hulley, 1970: 156, fig. 3; Hulley, 1986: 116, fig. 25.2; Compagno et al., 1989: 84, pl. Compagno et al., 1991: 91; Ebert et al., 1991: 79; Stehmann, 1995: 103; Compagno, 1999: 117; Compagno & Ebert, 2007: 141, fig. 8a; Ebert & Compagno, 2007: 122; Aschliman et al., 2010: 370; Ebert, 2015: 174, fig. 191; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Weigmann, 2016: 963; Weigmann et al., 2016a: 478, fig. 21.4. Raia spinacidermis: Smith, 1949a: 66 (in part Raia durbanensis in synonymy); Smith, 1965: 66 (in part).)

South Africa voucher material: Syntypes, 2 specimens both lost. No other known specimens available .

South African distribution: Endemic. Hondeklip Bay (NC).

Remarks: The only two known specimens are lost and to date no other specimens of this species have been observed despite extensive surveys along the west coast. The specific name “ durbanensis ” is misleading since the only known specimens were caught off the west coast in very deepwater.

Conservation status: DD (2019).