Dipturus olseni ( Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951a )

Jones, Christian M., Driggers Iii, William B., Hannan, Kristin M., Hoffmayer, Eric R., Jones, Lisa M. & Raredon, Sandra J., 2020, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea, Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 281-315 : 288

Dipturus olseni ( Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951a) —spreadfin skate

Synonyms: Raja olseni Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951a

Distribution. Widely distributed in the northern GOM from Cape Coral, Florida to the Texas/ Mexico border at depths between approximately 55 and 385 m.

First Record in GOM. The holotype ( USNM 153556 , Figure 5 ) and paratype ( MCZ 37176) upon which the species description was based ( Bigelow and Schroeder, 1951a) were both collected in November of 1950 aboard the RV Oregon from the northern GOM off of the southern Texas coast ( Springer and Bullis 1956) .

Remarks. This species appears to be endemic to the GOM. The genus Dipturus is currently under revision and species from the GOM are of particular interest as little is known of their biology and habits. Mature specimens appear to differ in several respects from juvenile forms, which are the predominant basis for current descriptions (C. Jones unpublished data).

Conservation Status. Data Deficient

Figures

FIGURE 5. Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) perspectives of the holotype of Dipturus olseni (USNM 153556) collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Photographs by Sandra J. Raredon, USNM.