Positional and ontogenetic variation in vertebral centra morphology in five batoid species
Kelsey C. James
A C D and Lisa J. Natanson B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 9 East Alumni Avenue, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
B National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, 28 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
C Present address: NOAA Fisheries, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: kelsey.james@noaa.gov
Marine and Freshwater Research 72(6) 887-898 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20183
Submitted: 7 June 2020 Accepted: 26 October 2020 Published: 24 December 2020
Abstract
An increasing number of studies on elasmobranchs have shown that band-pair counts in vertebral centra do not accurately reflect age. Research in sharks has indicated that the number of band pairs vary with body size and that centrum morphology is related to structural needs. A study of this kind has not been undertaken on batoids; thus, we examined the relationship between band-pair deposition and morphology of centra along the vertebral column, and ontogenetically, for five batoid species (little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, winter skate, Leucoraja ocellata, barndoor skate, Dipturus laevis, Atlantic stingray, Dasyatis sabina, and round ray, Urobatis halleri). Centrum morphology and band-pair count varied along the vertebral column in all individuals of all species, except in young of the year. Variation in band-pair counts among centra within individuals supports the hypothesis that band-pair formation is related to somatic growth and body shape rather than to an annual cycle.
Keywords: age, band-pair counts, skates and rays, somatic growth.
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