Species: Rajella bigelowi, Abyssal Skate, Bigelow's Skate
snout short to medium, tip stiff
eyes + semicircle of thorns
nape thorns in triangle
top disc & tail : denticles coarse, not dense
tail thorn rows: central & side

Rajella bigelowi (Stehmann, 1978)
Abyssal Skate, Bigelow's Skate
Disc heart shaped, front edges ~straight in female, sinuous in male, the outer corners broadly rounded; pectorals fused to disc from head back to insertion of pelvic fins, their skeletal supports end distinctly before tip of snout; snout bluntly angular, stiff; rostral cartilage solid and stiff to tip of snout; tail with moderately narrow base, long, gradually tapering, length 60% TL, with narrow side folds on rear ¼, dorsal fins low, small, confluent, tail fin small, separate from 2nd dorsal; pelvic fins consist of 2 lobes completely separated by a notch; thorns: usually a patch of small thorns on tip of snout, in a half ring around inner edges of eyes, a large triangular patch of 10-20 large thorns on nape & shoulders, a row of 26-33 along center of back from nape to 1st dorsal fin, with 1-2 parallel rows of ~30 thorns alongside that on rear of body and tail; upper surface of disc & tail completely covered with coarse denticles, except a bare patch on center of each pectoral of males, lower surface: disc free of denticles, tail with broad bands along edges, a naked strip along center.
Top surface uniformly dark- to light grey, with center of back lighter, young fish may be limy white; lower surface darker than top, with tail lighter.
Reaches 55 cm.
Lives on soft bottoms
Depth range 367-4156 m, usually below 1500 m.
Both sides of the north Atlantic; Canada south, a few records off S Florida and the NE Gulf of Mexico.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Offshore
- Offshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bathydemersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Benthic
- Data
- No pelagic larva
- No pelagic phase
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent only
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 55
- Depth Range Min
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- 367
- Depth Range Max
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- 4156