Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: eye diameter (maximum) 45 times in pre-orbital snout length, length of eye and spiracle combined 2.7-3.0 times. Rostral ridges widely separated over their entire length (but converging slightly in front). Anterior nasal lobe reaching to level of inner corner of nostril; posterior nasal flap wide. Spiracle with 2 moderately developed folds, the outer one more prominent. Thorns relatively small, present around inner margin of orbits, between spiracles, on shoulders, and along midline of disc and tail. Colour: khaki-brown, without distinct markings, white below. Size: to about 100 cm, rarely more.
Habitat: benthic on sandy and muddy bottoms, from shallowed water to about 100 m. Slow swimming over bottom or partially buried. Food: benthic invertebrates and fishes. Reproduction: ovoviviparous, one or two
litters per year, of 4-10 embryos.
Distribution: northward to southern Bay of Biscay and in Mediterranean. Elsewhere, southward to Angola.
Complementary iconography. Chevey, 1930: pl. 34 | Cadenat, 1950: fig. 21 | Bini, 1967: 123-124, fig.
Eggs, embryonic and young stages. Capapé et al., 1975: 48.