Abstract
The yellownose skate Zearaja chilensis is endemic to South America. The species is the target of a valuable commercial fishery in Chile, but is highly susceptible to over-exploitation. The complete mitochondrial genome was described from 694,593 sequences obtained using Ion Torrent Next Generation Sequencing. The total length of the mitogenome was 16,909 bp, comprising 2 rRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs and 2 non-coding regions. Comparison between the proposed mitogenome and one previously described from “raw fish fillets from a skate speciality restaurant in Seoul, Korea” resulted in 97.4% similarity, rather than approaching 100% similarity as might be expected. The 2.6% dissimilarity may indicate the presence of two separate stocks or two different species of, ostensibly, Z. chilensis in South America and highlights the need for caution when using genetic resources without a taxonomic reference or a voucher specimen.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. This contribution was supported by Fondo de Investigación Pesquera (FIP No. 2013-29). The authors thank Julio Lamilla, Astrid Isla and Yhon Concha-Perez for sample collection. CV and CB were supported by CONICYT–Becas Chile and TUAP–Graduate School of The University of Queensland.