Belgium country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Stehmann, M. and D.L. Bürkel, 1984
National Database:

Classification / Names

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Raie douce, Raya pintada, Homelyn ray, ... more

Main reference

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn. 1998. (Ref. 27314)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3261); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3261); max. reported age: 18 years (Ref. 88187)

Length at first maturity
L_m 61.0 range ? - ? cm

Environment

Marine; demersal; depth range 8 - 530 m (Ref. 88171)

Climate / Range

Temperate, preferred 12°C (Ref. 107945); 61°N - 16°N, 18°W - 25°E

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: Shetlands, southern North Sea and the western Baltic to Mauritania, including the western part of the Mediterranean (to Tunisia and western Greece).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Sub-rhomboid in shape with a short rostrum and rounded wing-tips. Upper surface almost smooth in young, but prickly in large specimens, except for bare centers of pectoral fins and hind part of disc, underside nearly smooth; orbital thorns separate, a regular row of 20-50 usually persistent thorns from nape to first dorsal fin; with 1-2 thorns between dorsal fins; 2 equal-sized dorsal fins at end of tail. Brownish dorsally with numerous small dark spots which do not reach the margin of the disc, frequently with a concentration of dark spots forming a ring around a pale centre on hind part of each pectoral fin, underside white (Ref. 3167).

Found mainly along the continental shelf (Ref. 3167). Depth range from 8-283 m in the northeast Atlantic (Ref. 82399), in the southern part of its range it occurs down to 530 m (Ref. 78469, 89037), but most common between 20-120 m (Ref. 88187). Prefers habitats with sand or mud bottoms (Ref. 78469). Juveniles usually found in shallow sandy inshore areas, adults utilize more offshore sand or sand-gravel habitats (Ref. 82399, 89038). Species buries itself to avoid predation and ambush potential prey. Feeds mainly on crustaceans (Ref. 3167) with prey size increasing as it grows (Ref. 88171), also preys on benthic worms, cephalopods and small fishes (Ref. 41849, 58137). Most individuals attain a length of 40-60 cm (Ref. 3261). Oviparous. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Detects weak electric fields generated by other organisms and generate its own weak electric fields (Ref. 10311).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.9 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.18-0.21; tm=8; tmax=14; Fec=24)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High vulnerability (59 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium

Raja montagui Fowler, 1910