Species: Dipturus oregoni, Hooktail Skate, Oregon's Winged Skate

Dipturus oregoni (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1958)

Hooktail Skate, Oregon's Winged Skate

Disc rhomboidal, with sinuous front margins, ~1.4X wider than long, rear edges gently convex; snout moderately elongate (length before eye 17-18% of TL), sharply pointed, its tip firm, with a stout cartilage; pectoral fin rays separate from snout; eyes on top of head, with spiracles immediately behind; nostrils a little in front of mouth, with front lobes from nostrils forming a curtain between them and mouth; pelvic fin with 2 distinct lobes connected by membrane, rear one large; 2 small dorsal fins at rear of tail, similar in size & shape, rounded tips, close together (~1/3 length of 1st dorsal base apart); tail narrow, 50% TL, with a pair of lateral skin folds low down, along entire length; tail fin as a long, low upper fold behind the second dorsal; top of disc free of denticles, except on snout, head and front edge of disc; ventral side with denticles under snout, besides mouth, & and in a band half way along front edge of disc; small thorns around eyes & along front edge of disc, no thorns along center of disc; tail with central row of 31-48 thorns, flanked by a pair of side rows of flattened, hooked thorns, 1 thorn between dorsal fins.

Upper surface uniform brown; lower surface with disc and pelvics pale bluish, tail pale brown; mucous pores in row of 9-10 along each side of nape in inconspicuous dark dots, pores on underside of snout & before mouth black.

Reaches 144 cm

Depth range 369-1079 m

Lives on soft bottoms

SE Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.