Author: (Forster, 1967)
Bathyraja pallida (Forster, 1967)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Bathyraja pallida (Forster, 1967) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: snout long and soft, moderately pointed; front margins of disc more or less undulate and generally concave; tail relatively short. Upper surface almost smooth, but a patch of spinules halfway along front margins and tail prickly from level of pelvic girdle. No thorns on disc, but a median row of 16-21 blunt thorns along tail and one thorn between dorsal fins; underside smooth except for loose prickles on tail. Colour: upper surface pale white; underside brown with irregular light blotches along midline of body. Size: to 160 cm (only 3 specimens reported in literature).
Habitat: benthic in deepwater on lower parts of continental slope and or adjacent deep-sea plains between about 2,400 and 2,950 m; very rare. Food: remains of the squid Todarodes sagittatus in the stomach of female. Reproduction: oviparous; egg-cases, embryos and young so far unknown.
Distribution: northern Bay of Biscay (about 47° N, 06-08° W); known only from 2 type specimens and one other, but distribution no doubt wider.