The occurrence of norwegian skate, dipturus nidarosiensis (Elasmobranchii: Rajiformes: Rajidae), in the strait of sicily, central mediterranean

Abstract

This short note describes the first record of the Norwegian skate, Dipturus nidarosiensis (Storm, 1881), in the Strait of Sicily. A male specimen of 95.6 cm total length and 3466 g weight was caught on December 2017 during a bottom trawl survey at a mean depth of 551 m. Information on biometric, sexual maturity, stomach content, and age estimation were provided. This finding confirms the occurrence of the species in the Strait of Sicily, previously suggested by the record of an empty egg case in 2015, thus contributing to the knowledge on the distribution of the species in the Mediterranean Sea.