Bigelow's ray
# Bigelow's ray

Bigelow's ray (Rajella bigelowi), also called the chocolate skate or Bigelow's skate, is a species of skate in the family Rajidae. It is named in honour of the oceanographer Henry Bryant Bigelow.

## Distribution

Bigelow's ray lives on continental slopes and deepwater rises around the edges of the Atlantic Ocean. It has been recorded at 367–4,156 m (1,204–13,635 ft), mostly below 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

## Description

Like all rays, Bigelow's ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. The body is sub-rhomboid. It is dark on the dorsal surface, with the outer edges of the disc and pelvic fins shading to a slightly darker colour.

Its maximum length is 55 cm (1.80 ft).

## Behaviour

Bigelow's ray feeds on small benthic crustaceans.

## Life cycle

Bigelow's ray is oviparous. The eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners; they are deposited in sandy or muddy flats.

It is parasitised by Ditrachybothridium macrocephalum (tapeworms of the order Diphyllidea).

