Rajidae

Family Rajidae

* Dipturus intermedius (Parnell, 1837) —No common name in Madeira; Flapper skate (Fig. 8 and 9) Günther 1870: 468 (as Raja macrorhynchus sic).

Ebert & Stehmann 2013: 317–321 (as Dipturus sp. cf. intermedia).

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira

Remarks. one mounted specimen collected in Madeira by R. T. Lowe (BMNH 1860.8.30.7), named as D. macrorynchus, was identified as D. intermedius by MB. One specimen registered in MMF collection dated from 1943 (MMF 2869), collected with bottom trawl off the west coast of Funchal, could not be located. The Madeiran specimen in the Natural History Museum (London), bears two thorns along the lower edges of tail, at level of dorsal fins, distinctly inclined towards the head (Fig. 9), a character of Dipturus intermedia (Iglésias et al. 2010; Last et al. 2016b). It is most probable that this species also occurs in the Azores and the Canary Islands, but we were not able to see specimens from there and records in the literature are referred to Dipturus batis (see remarks in doubtful records).

Dipturus oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758) —No common name in Madeira; Longnosed skate

Lowe 1839: 92 (as Raja oxyrhyncus sic)

Lowe 1843: 94 | Lowe, 1849: 20 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 124 and 143 (as Raia oxyrhynchus)

Fowler 1936: 112 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 121 | Maul 1948: 140 | Lloris et al. 1991: 236 (as Raja oxyrinchus)

Albuquerque 1954 –56:169 (as Raja oxyrhynchus, sic.)

Stehmann 1973: 63 | Stehmann & Bürkel 1984a: 177 | Sanches 1986: 107 (as Raja (Dipturus) oxyrinchus)

Wirtz et al. 2008: 4 | Ebert & Stehmann 2013: 225 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 15.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997 Arruda 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010) and Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. no specimens or other material from Madeira was found in natural history museum collections. Carneiro et al. (2014) refer as existing in MMF collection, but the specimen in question was collected in Portugal mainland. Maul, 1948 refers as rare, coastal. Despite no specimens in collection have been found, the collection of two specimens off the North coast of Madeira during the ARQMAD 02-P96 Cruise in 1996 (DSI unpubl. data) lead us to leave this species in the checklist.

Leucoraja fullonica (Linnaeus, 1758) — Raia; Shagreen ray

Günther 1870: 467 | Fowler 1936: 115 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 121 | Maul 1948: 140 | Albuquerque 1954 –56: 166 | Lloris et al. 1991: 236 (as Raja fullonica)

Garman 1913: 328 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 123 and 143 (as Raia fullonica)

Stehmann 1973: 64 | Stehmann & Bürkel, 1984a: 179 | Sanches, 1986: 108 (as Raja (Leucoraja) fullonica) Wirtz et al. 2008: 4 | Erbert & Stehmann 2013: 335 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 15.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira and Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Arruda 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010). Remarks. a mounted specimen in BMNH collections (1860.8.30.4), from Madeira donated by R. T. Lowe.

Leucoraja circularis (Couch 1838) —No common name in Madeira; Sandy skate

Günther 1870: 462 (as Raja circularis)

Belloc 1934: 174 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 123 (as Raia circularis s ic.).

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira and Canary Islands (Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. this record is based on a mounted specimen in BMNH collections (1860.8.30.3), obtained from Madeira and donated by R. T. Lowe. Based on the external characters (e.g. spines organization on body and number of teeth rows), this specimen has been confirmed by us (MB) as L. circularis.

Raja brachyura Lafont, 1873 — Raia; Blonde ray

Günther 1870: 459 (as Raja undulata) and 460 (as Raja asterias)

Stehmann 1973: 59 | Stehmann & Bürkel 1984a: 184 | Sanches 1986: 100 | Lloris et al. 1991: 236 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 4 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 15.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Arruda 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010) and Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. Three specimens in BMNH collections (1862.4.22.34, 1864.8.22.2, 2013.3.25.2). Günther (1870) gives R. undulata Lacepède 1802 for Madeira, based on a specimen donated by R. T. Lowe (BMNH 2013.3.25.2). This specimen was later labelled as R. asterias and R. brachyura. The latter identification was confirmed by the authors (MB). This species is reported to have been caught to the North of Madeira, Porto Santo and Desertas Islands, in the framework of project ARQMAD (1995–97), using bottom longlines at 100 m depth (DSI unpubl. data). In spite being mentioned as present in MMF collection (Wirtz et al. 2008; Carneiro et al. 2014), no registered specimens were found in that museum. A specimen was collected off Madeira’s north coast in 2011 and lived for one month in the Aquarium of Porto Moniz (Carolina Ornelas, pers. comm.).

Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758 — Raia, Thornback ray (Fig. 10)

Günther 1870: 456 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 123 and 143 | Fowler 1936: 110 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 121 | Maul 1948: 140 | Nunes 1953: 198 | Albuquerque 1954 –56: 160 | Stehmann 1973: 59 | Stehmann & Bürkel 1984a: 185 | Sanches 1986: 102 | Lloris et al. 1991: 236 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 4 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 15.

Garman 1913: 326 (as Raia clavata).

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Arruda 1997; Porteiro et al. 2010) and Canary Islands (Lloris et al. 1991).

Remarks. Wirtz et al. (2008) and Ebert & Stehmann (2013) refer that specimens of Raja clavata from Madeira may be assigned to R. maderensis Lowe, 1838 (see remarks under the latter). One of the specimens from Madeira sent to the Natural History Museum by R. T. Lowe (BMNH 1860.8.30.5) and used by Günther (1870) was observed by one of the authors (MB) and based on their morphological characters, confirmed as R. clavata.

* ▲ Raja maderensis Lowe, 1838 —Raia-da-Madeira; Madeira ray (Fig. 11)

Lowe 1838: 195 | Lowe 1843: 94 | Garman 1913: 325 | Belloc 1934: 171 (as Raia maderensis)

Duméril 1865: 545 | Günther 1870: 459 | Capello 1872: 88 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 123 and 143| Fowler 1936: 113 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 121 | Maul 1948: 140 | Stehmann 1973: 60 | Stehmann & Bürkel 1984a: 186 | Sanches 1986: 103 | Lloris et al. 1991: 236 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 4 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 15 | Last et al. 2016b: 322

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira, Azores (Santos et al. 1997; Arruda 1997) and the Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. Madeira is the type locality of this species. Holotype not found. A specimen preserved in BMNH (1862.4.22.35), a female specimen in alcohol in MNHN (MNHN-IC-0000-1792) and eight records including formalin preserved specimens and other material in MMF collections (dated from 1964 to 2013). Maul (1948) refers as coastal and frequent all year round and the same author (1976), refers as relatively common in about 100 m depth in Madeiran waters. The validity of this species has been questioned (Chevolot et al. 2007; Serra-Pereira et al. 2011; Ball et al. 2016). Based on genetics, Chevolot et al. (2007) concluded that Azorean specimens identified as R. maderensis, might in fact be R. clavata. Ball et al. (2016) did not study specimens from Madeira and admit that, in spite their data point to the synonymy of R. maderensis with R. clavata, the existence of an endemic R. maderensis could not be ruled out. The material of both species (R. maderensis from Madeira and Azores and R. clavata from Madeira and UK), observed by the authors (MB) in BMNH as well as recent observations and genetic analyses of fresh specimens of R. maderensis from Madeira by the authors (MF), show consistent differences between the two species, regarding not only colour pattern, but also teeth shape and genetic divergence. We therefore consider both species valid, as Last et al. (2016b). The specimens from the Azores (BMNH 1903. 6.27.38 and 1983.9.8.1) confirm the presence of this species in that archipelago. At least 10 specimens collected off Madeira’s north coast between 2005 and 2014 lived from a few months to 9 years in the Aquarium of Porto Moniz (Carolina Ornelas, pers. comm.).

Raja montagui Fowler 1910 —Raia-pregada; Spotted ray

Günther 1870: 458 (as Raja maculata)

Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 123 and 143 (as Raia maculata)

Maul 1976: 7

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira and Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. Günther’s specimen (BMNH 1860.8.30.2), presented by R. T. Lowe, is a mounted half-grown

female and its identity was confirmed by the authors (MB). This species is not present in MMF collections, despite what is said by Carneiro et al. (2014).

* Rostroraja alba (Lacepède, 1803) —No common name in Madeira; Bottlenosed skate

Lloris et al 1991: 236 (as Raja alba)

Carneiro et al. 2014: 15.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira and Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. two preserved specimens in MMF collection (MMF 23650 and MMF 36215), both collected on Desertas islands, first dated from 1984 and the last one dated from 2004.