''Atlantoraja'' is a genus of

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

s in the family

Arhynchobatidae Arhynchobatidae is a family of skates and is commonly known as the softnose skates. It belongs to the order Rajiformes in the superorder Batoidea of rays. At least 104 species have been described, in 13 genera. Softnose skates have at times been ...

. They are found from near sea level to depths of in the Atlantic Ocean off Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. These

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

are all considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

due to the intense fishing pressure within their

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

Species

There are three extant and one extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

recognized within the genus: * ''

Atlantoraja castelnaui The spotback skate (''Atlantoraja castelnaui'') is a species of fish in the family Arhynchobatidae. It is found off the Atlantic coasts of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay where its natural habitat is over the continental shelf in the open sea. I ...

'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1907) (Spotback skate) * †'' Atlantoraja cecilae'' (Steurbaut & Herman, 1978) * '' Atlantoraja cyclophora'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1903) (Eyespot skate) * '' Atlantoraja platana'' ( Günther, 1880) (La Plata skate)

References

* Rajidae Ray genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rajiformes-stub