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Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809

Mediterranean starry ray
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Raja asterias   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Raja asterias (Mediterranean starry ray)
Raja asterias
Picture by Ilkyaz, A.T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Rajiformes (Skates and rays) > Rajidae (Skates)
Etymology: Raja: Latin, raja, -ae = a sting ray (Raja sp.) (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 700 m (Ref. 127922), usually 20 - 50 m (Ref. 117283). Subtropical; 46°N - 30°N, 10°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: endemic to the Mediterranean but may spread to the Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco and possibly south to Mauritania.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 75.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 100834); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 100834)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabit inshore waters (Ref. 3167). Depth range to 170 m (Ref. 04426), and from 333-343 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Feed on all kinds of benthic animals (Ref. 3167). Oviparous. Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats (Ref. 205). Egg capsules are 4.5 cm long and 3.0 cm wide (Ref. 41304). Minimum depth range (Ref. 114953).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous, paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Spawning peak in summer to early autumn with 30 to more than 100 egg-cases per year depending on the size of the female (Ref. 3167). Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2):271-290. (Ref. 27314)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 16 September 2014

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 13.3 - 15.7, mean 14.3 °C (based on 100 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00251 (0.00207 - 0.00305), b=3.25 (3.21 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.6 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 2.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 17 [2, 314] mg/100g; Iron = 0.821 [0.076, 9.969] mg/100g; Protein = 17.5 [14.6, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.602 [0.272, 1.402] g/100g; Selenium = 29.3 [5.7, 156.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 4.39 [0.37, 47.95] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.472 [0.029, 5.467] mg/100g (wet weight);