Dactylobatus clarkii ( Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958 )

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 : 286

Dactylobatus clarkii ( Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958) —hook skate

Synonyms: Raja clarkii Bigelow and Schroeder, 1958

Distribution. Patchy throughout northern GOM from 370 to 1048 m depth.

First Record in GOM. This species was described by Bigelow and Schroeder (1958) based on three specimens (holotype USNM 156712 , Figure 2 , and paratypes MCZ 39618) collected from the northern GOM off of Florida aboard the RV Oregon in 1955 ( Springer and Bullis 1956) .

Remarks. This species is rare and little is known about its biology. However, recent observations made during deepwater habitat surveys conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OOER) in the northern GOM utilizing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) have yielded additional insights into the morphology and habitat preferences of this species, including a new maximum depth record (1048m, C. Jones unpublished data).

Conservation Status. Data Deficient

Figures

FIGURE 2. Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) perspectives of the holotype of Dactylobatus clarkii (USNM 156712) collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Photographs by Sandra J. Raredon, USNM.