The longtail skate (''Arhynchobatis asperrimus'') is a

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 ...

and is the only member of the genus ''Arhynchobatis''. This species was first described by

Edgar Ravenswood Waite Edgar Ravenswood Waite (5 May 1866 – 19 January 1928) was a British/Australian zoologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and ornithologist. Waite was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, count ...

in 1909. It is found off New Zealand at depths of from on the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

. Its length is from .

Conservation status

The New Zealand

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

has classified the longtail skate as "Data deficient" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

References

Rajidae Endemic marine fish of New Zealand Fish described in 1909 {{Rajiformes-stub