Rostroraja ackleyi ( Garman, 1881 )

Jones, Christian M., Driggers Iii, William B., Hannan, Kristin M., Hoffmayer, Eric R., Jones, Lisa M. & Raredon, Sandra J., 2020, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea, Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 281-315 : 292

Rostroraja ackleyi ( Garman, 1881) —ocellate skate

Synonyms:

Raja ackleyi Garman, 1881

Raja alia Garman, 1899

Distribution. Reported from a small area off the west central Florida coast in the northern GOM. Captured from depths of 30 to 385 m.

First Record in the northern GOM: This species was described ( Garman 1881) based on specimens collected from the southern GOM in the vicinity of the Yucatan Banks (MCZ S-748). The first record in the northern GOM is reported by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) as a specimen (MCZ 37186) collected aboard the RV Oregon north of the Dry Tortugas in 1951 ( Springer and Bullis 1956).

Remarks. This species is potentially confused with Rostroraja texana ( Chandler, 1921) due to similar coloration and proposed overlapping distribution. Raja alia is nomen dubium and currently considered a synonym of this species pending further investigation ( Last et al. 2016). The placement of this and other incertae sedis Raja of the “Amphi-American Assemblage” ( McEachran and Dunn 1998) in the previously monotypic genus Rostroraja Hulley, 1972 is provisional based on unpublished molecular data ( Last et al. 2016).

Conservation Status. Data Deficient (as Raja ackleyi )