Spotback Skate
Atlantoraja castelnaui
- Critically endangered
- Card rarity: Legendary
- Sharks and rays
The spotback skate is a species of fish in the family Arhynchobatidae. It is found off the Atlantic coasts of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay where its natural habitat is over the continental shelf in the open sea. It is a large fish, growing to over a metre in length. It feeds mainly on other fish according to availability, with shrimps, octopuses and other invertebrates also being eaten. Reproduction takes place throughout most of the year, with the eggs being laid in capsules that adhere to the seabed. The spotback skate is the subject of a fishery and is thought to be overfished, resulting in Greenpeace adding the fish to its red list of fish to be avoided, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature listing it as an "endangered species".
Classification
- Class
- Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Rajiformes
- Family
- Arhynchobatidae
- Genus
- Atlantoraja