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Egg capsules of the yellownose skate Zearaja chilensis (Guichenot 1848) and the roughskin skate Dipturus trachyderma (Krefft and Stehmann 1974) (Rajiformes: Rajidae) from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean

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Abstract

Egg capsules of Zearaja chilensis were obtained from individuals kept in captivity and from dead specimens captured in Valparaíso Bay, central Chile. One female under laboratory conditions deposited three pairs of egg capsules in 6 days. The egg capsules of Dipturus trachyderma were obtained from a female captured in Valdivia, south Chile. Fresh egg capsules of both species were golden-brown and thick walled. Size of egg capsules of Z. chilensis ranged from 94 to 144 mm in capsule length and 64 to 76 mm in capsule width. Those of D. trachyderma ranged between 197 and 199 mm in capsule length and 110.0 and 129.0 mm in capsule width. Range and mean values of capsule length and width of egg capsules described in this study were smaller than those reported for the same species in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. This is the first report on egg-laying rate of Z. chilensis and the first description of egg capsules of Z. chilensis and D. trachyderma from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all members of the Programa de Conservación de Tiburones de Chile (PCT) for their valuable help with logistics, sampling and dissections. We are very grateful to the fishermen involved, especially to those off Caleta Montemar, Caleta Higuerillas and Caleta Amargos, and to Iván Belliazze for providing access to samples. Additional thanks are due to Michael Bennett, Clinton Duffy and anonymous referees for their suggestions and comments on early versions of this article. C.B. was supported by CONICYT-Becas Chile and TUAP-Graduate School of The University of Queensland. All experimental work carried out and/or described within this research complies with current legislation of the government of Chile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Biología y Conservación de Condrictios, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile, Avenida Borgoño s/n, Reñaca, Viña del Mar, Chile

    Francisco Concha & Naití Morales

  2. Fisiologia Animal Comparada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, Avenida Itália, Km 8, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    María Cristina Oddone

  3. School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Carlos Bustamante

Authors
  1. Francisco Concha
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  2. María Cristina Oddone
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  3. Carlos Bustamante
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  4. Naití Morales
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Correspondence to Francisco Concha.

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Concha, F., Oddone, M.C., Bustamante, C. et al. Egg capsules of the yellownose skate Zearaja chilensis (Guichenot 1848) and the roughskin skate Dipturus trachyderma (Krefft and Stehmann 1974) (Rajiformes: Rajidae) from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean. Ichthyol Res 59, 323–327 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-012-0293-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-012-0293-z

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