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Species: Leucoraja yucatanensis, Yucatan Skate, Yucatan White Skate

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

disc heart-shaped, front edges undulating
snout tip firm
center disc thorns: 1-2 rows shoulder to tail
thorns: nape 3, 2-3 each shoulder
tail: multiple rows thorns
top with dense dark & light spots
under disc light

Leucoraja yucatanensis (Bigelow & Shcroeder, 1950)

Yucatan Skate, Yucatan White Skate

Disc heart-shaped, width 1.2X length, front edges undulating, outer corners broadly rounded; snout with firm tip, short and bluntly angled, part before eyes 3.5 times X distance between eyes; tail moderately slender, slightly longer than body; thorns on orbital rim in a continuous half-ring of 5-7; a few small thorns along each rim of rostrum; 3 thorns on nape, 2-3 on each shoulder; thorns on back in one row from shoulders back to tail, sometimes 2 rows, with an occasional thorn on midline between them; tail with 3-4 rows of small thorns at front, 2-3 rows at rear; dorsal fins separated by 1 thorn; underside smooth.

Upper body & tail pale brownish gray, with small evenly dispersed brownish spots ; tail may have dark cross-bars; lower body pale, pores not in dark spots.

Reaches 30 cm.

Lives on soft bottoms.

Depth range 192-457 m

Caribbean Yucatan to Venezuela

Note: Leucoraja caribbaea is a synonym.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Offshore
  • Offshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom only
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Bathydemersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Bony fishes
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Benthic
  • Data
  • No pelagic larva
  • No pelagic phase
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Caribbean endemic
  • Continent
  • Continent only
  • GC endemic
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Data deficient
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 30
Depth Range Min
  • 192
Depth Range Max
  • 457