Dipturus pullopunctatus ( Smith, 1964 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 80

Dipturus pullopunctatus ( Smith, 1964)

Slime Skate

Raja pullopunctata Smith, 1964: 285 , fig. A, pl. 25. SAIAB [formerly RUSI] 37. Type locality: Algoa Bay , 31°07'E, 29°59'S, off coast of South Africa, Western Indian Ocean.

Local synonymy: Raia batis: Thompson, 1914: 156 ; von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 3; Barnard, 1925: 70, fig. 3, pl. 4; von Bonde, 1934: 16; Smith, 1949a: 66, fig. 65; Smith, 1965: 66, fig. 65. Raia stabuliforis: von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 12 . Raja batis: Norman, 1935: 39 ; Fowler, 1941: 385; Bigelow & Schroeder, 1953: 146. Raja pullopunctata: Smith, 1964: 285 , fig. A, pl. 25; Hulley, 1966: 505, figs. 4–5; Wallace, 1967a: 13, fig. 7; Hulley, 1970: 166, fig. 6, pl. 2; Hulley, 1972a: 86, figs. 58–59; Hulley, 1986: 123, fig. 25.15, pl. 6 in part, including D. campbelli ); Stehmann, 1995: 106; Walmsley-Hart et al., 1999: 165. Raja (Dipturus) pullopunctata: Compagno et al., 1989: 92 , pl.; Compagno et al., 1991: 95; Ebert et al., 1991: 73. Dipturus pullopunctata: Compagno, 1999: 116 ; Ebert & Compagno, 2007: 119; Ebert et al., 2008: 87; NPOA, 2013: 55; da Silva et al., 2015: 247; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147. Dipturus pullopunctatus: Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 81 ; Compagno & Ebert, 2007: 139, fig. 6d; Ebert, 2014: 61, fig. 88; Ebert, 2015: 177, fig. 199; Last et al., 2016f: 22; Last et al., 2016g: 270, fig. 19.61; Weigmann, 2016: 946.

South Africa voucher material: Holotype: SAIAB 37 . Non-types: SAIAB 12839 , SAIAB 25191 , SAIAB 25192 , SAIAB 25756 , SAIAB 25906 , SAIAB 25907 , SAIAB 25908 , SAIAB 25909 , SAIAB 25910 , SAIAB 25911 , SAIAB 25912 , SAIAB 25913 , SAIAB 25914 , SAIAB 25915 , SAIAB 25916 , SAIAB 25917 , SAIAB 25990 , SAIAB 25991 , SAIAB 25992 , SAIAB 25993 , SAIAB 25994 , SAIAB 25995 , SAIAB 25996 , SAIAB 25997 , SAIAB 25998 , SAIAB 25999 , SAIAB 26229 , SAIAB 26230 , SAIAB 26401 , SAIAB 26402 , SAIAB 26959 , SAIAB 27573 , SAIAB 48512 .

South African distribution: The Orange River (NC) to at least Algoa Bay (EC). Records from off Durban (KZN) may be based on D. campbelli .

Remarks: This distinct species was often confused by earlier researchers as Raja batis , a European species, or with Dipturus campbelli , was once considered a junior synonym of D. pullopunctatus .

Conservation status: LC (2020).