Bathyraja meridionalis, the dark-belly skate, is a species of skate from the western South Atlantic Ocean (Argentina and Uruguay). It is an oviparous species; females lay eggs enclosed in a horny capsule.Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds, 1997. Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. B: Biol. Sci. 264:1309-1315.Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen, 1966. Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p. Male specimens can reach 120 cm.
Description Bathyraja meridionalis is a large deep-water skate, exceeding 1 m in total length. It has a short, blunt snout and is dark brown on both its dorsal and ventral surfaces. The upper surface of the disc is covered with coarse denticles, while the underside is smooth. A continuous row of more than 30 thorns extends from the nape to the first dorsal fin.Stehmann, M. F. W. (1987). Bathyraja meridionalis sp. n. (Pisces, Elasmobranchii, Rajidae), a new deep-water skate from the eastern slope of subantarctic South Georgia Island. Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 38(1–2), 35–56.
Distribution and habitat The species was described from the eastern continental slope of South Georgia, where the two type specimens were collected at approximately 800 m depth. Bottom-water temperatures at the type localities were around 1.9–2 °C. Stehmann considered it a deep-water species with a likely southern Atlantic or broader Southern Hemisphere distribution.
Etymology The specific epithet meridionalis is derived from the Latin meridianus, meaning “southerly”, referring to the type localities being, at the time of its description, the southernmost records of a deep-water species of the genus Bathyraja.
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