Chordates • Earth.com

Raja africana

(Raja africana)

Description

Raja africana, commonly known as the African skate, is a species of ray in the family Rajidae. It is found at depths of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Mauritania and Tunisia. This species was described in 1977, but the currently used scientific name is a homonym, preoccupied by Raja africana Bloch & Schneider, 1801, which is a synonym of Urogymnus asperrimus. Consequently, a replacement scientific name is needed for the African skate. Furthermore, the validity of the African skate has been questioned, with some suggesting that its type specimen may be an aberrant R. miraletus or R. straeleni.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order:Rajiformes
Family:Rajidae
Genus:Raja
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