Reproductive biology and abundance of the freckled sandskate Psammobatis lentiginosa McEachran,1983 in the southwest Atlantic

Abstract

The reproductive biology and abundance of the freckled sandskate Psammobatis lentiginosa in the southwest Atlantic was investigated. Specimens of P. lentiginosa were captured from 35°15′S to 45°19′S with a gap between 39°20′ and 44°22′S, from 49 to 164 m depth, which was consistent with most previous studies. Major concentrations of P. lentiginosa were detected between 35° and 37°S, and between 90 and 130 m depth. Females matured at larger sizes than males; L₅₀ (estimated size at which 50% of individuals are sexually mature) was 313 mm TL (total length) and 333 mm TL for males and females, respectively. Oviposition in P. lentiginosa occurs in winter and spring in northern areas, and in summer in the southern area. Given their relatively small size, Psammobatis spp. may be less susceptible to population depletion than other skates. Nonetheless, factors such as increasing fisheries pressure and habitat disturbance due to trawling may be impacting on those species in the study area.

Keywords:

• Abundance
• distribution
• Psammobatis
• reproduction
• skate
• southwest Atlantic

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Acknowledgements

We thank the crews of the research vessels Capitán Oca Balda and Dr. E. L. Holmberg for assistance in the collection of samples. We also thank J. M. Díaz de Astarloa for a critical review of the manuscript and M. Salama Ortiz for language corrections. We would like to thank F. Uiblein and two anonymous reviewers for offering helpful comments that improved the earlier drafts of the manuscript

Notes

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark