Cruriraja parcomaculata (von Bonde & Swart, 1923)

Triangular Legskate

Raia parcomaculata von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 9, fig. 2, pl. 21. Syntypes: (several) BMNH 1935.7.14.1 (1). Type locality: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Local synonymy: Raja parcomaculata: von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 9, fig. 2, pl. 21; Norman, 1935: 46 (KZN, South Africa). Raia miraletus: Barnard, 1925: 68 (in part, for types of C. parcomaculata); Fowler, 1941: 375 (in part, KZN, South Africa), also including Raia parcomaculata von Bonde & Swart, 1923 (in synonymy). Cruriraja parcomaculata: Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948a: 550 (KZN, South Africa); Bigelow & Schroeder, 1953: 315 (KZN, South Africa); Bigelow & Schroeder, 1962: 199 (KZN, South Africa); Wallace, 1967a: 11, fig. 6 (rare off Durban); Hulley, 1970: 157, fig. 4, pl. 1a (in part, holotype lost, off Durban); Hulley, 1972a: 86, figs. 58–59 (in part); Hulley, 1986: 117, fig. 25.3 (in part); Compagno et al., 1989: 84, pl. (in part); Ebert, 2014: 57, fig. 78; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Last et al., 2016f: 29; Weigmann et al., 2016a: 480, fig. 21.6. Cruriraja triangularis: Smith, 1964: 290, pl. 28 (original description, = C. parcomaculata von Bonde & Swart, 1923); Hulley, 1986: 117, fig. 25.3; Compagno et al., 1989: 84, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 117; Ebert & Compagno, 2007: 122; Aschliman et al., 2010: 369 (synonym of C. parcomaculata). Cruriraja parcomaculata (von Bonde & Swart, 1923) = Cruriraja ‘ triangularis ’ (Smith, 1964): Compagno & Ebert, 2007: 143, fig. 8c; Ebert et al., 2008: 86; Weigmann, 2016: 963.

South Africa voucher material: BMNH 1935.7 . 14.1 (1) (several syntypes C. parcomaculata). SAIAB [former RUSI] 50 (Paratype of C. triangularis), SAIAB 10092, SAIAB 10094, SAIAB 10095, SAIAB 10096, SAIAB 10097, SAIAB 188326, SAIAB 188974, SAIAB 189239 .

South African distribution: Occurs from Durban north to the KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: A very small skate with a limited range from about Durban to southern Mozambique. It has a complicated taxonomic history due to it being described as C. triangularis (Smith, 1964) and most subsequent authors referring to the Eastern and Western Cape form as C. parcomaculata . The issue was resolved by Aschliman et al. (2010) who concluded that C. triangularis is a junior synonym of C. parcomaculata .

Conservation status: LC (2019).