Common name

Shorttail Fanskate.

Binomial

Sympterygia brevicaudata.

Synonyms

Psammobatis brevicaudatus

Identification

A medium-sized softnose skate with a broad heart-shaped disc; disc width ~1.2 times disc length. Eyes small. Orbit length 0.34-0.41 x snout length. Mouth relatively wide. Nasal flaps broadly lobed. Snout short, broad, and rounded with a small protruding tip. Pectoral fin anterior margins undulate; convex with a central concavity. Pectoral apices narrowly rounded. Pelvic fins large and long with weakly notched, broadly rounded outer margins. Anterior pectoral radials extend almost to snout tip.
Single pre and post-orbital thorns. Midline thorns discontinuous or ranging in size; more prominent on nape and tail. Dense thorn patches also present posteriorly on pectoral fins (personal observation). Tail short, firm, and narrow-based. Two well-developed, narrowly separated dorsal fins near tip of tail. Claspers slender with pointed tips.

Colour

Dorsum pale grey or pale greyish brown with numerous small black spots and blotches. Large dark ocelli on each pectoral fin. Blotches form a radial pattern around pectoral margins. Dark bands and small spots on tail. Ventrum mostly white.
Dorsal markings are described as ‘often indistinct’ but this may be due to the faded condition of dead or moribund specimens.

Size

Maximum length ~55cm. Length at birth unknown.

Habitat

Temperate seas. Demersal on soft bottoms and rocky reefs. From close inshore to at least 100m. Shorttail fanskates are very likely found much deeper as they are a bicatch in the hake and deepwater crustacean fishery that operates at ~500m.

Distribution

Southeastern Pacific. Occurs from Ecuador to Central Chile.