The Norwegian skate (''Dipturus nidarosiensis''), or black skate, is a species of
skate found at depths of to over in the East Atlantic region.
Initially its range was believed to be restricted to the
Norwegian Sea and
North Sea to the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
. It is occasionally encountered off the western coast of Ireland, and historically has been found near
Rockall and in the
Norwegian Deep, though recent surveys have not identified the species there.
The species has frequently been confused with other skates, and since the late 1980s it has been confirmed to occur more widely, ranging from Iceland to Morocco, as well as off South Africa and in the
Mediterranean Sea.
[Guide of Mediterranean Skates and Rays (''Dipturus nidarosiensis''). Oct. 2022. Mendez L., Bacquet A. and F. Briand.http://www.ciesm.org/Guide/skatesandrays/Dipturus-nidarosiensis]
This very large skate can reach a
total length of up to .
Females grow larger than males.
It is all dark brown-grey above, lacking distinct patterns. Its underparts are dark brown and often covered in blackish mucus, which separates it from some other skates in its range where adults generally have pale underparts (an exception is ''
D. oxyrinchus'', which however can be distinguished by its narrower snout).
[ The species is oviparous. The egg case consists in a very large capsule with a long rectangular shape and pointed horns at the corners, deposited on sandy and muddy bottoms.]decapod crustacean
The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estima ...
s, followed by bony fish
Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...
, while cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...
s, small elasmobranchs and polychaetes occasionally are consumed.[
]
References
Norwegian skate
Fish of the North Sea
Norwegian skate
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