The taxonomy of New Zealand skates (Suborder Rajoidea), with descriptions of three new species

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Abstract
Two species of Raja are known to occur in New Zealand waters. The common “rough” skate, usually referred to R. australis Macleay, 1884, or sometimes to R. lemprieri Richardson, 1846, is shown to be R. nasuta Banks in Müller and Henle, 1841. The “smooth” skate, usually referred to R. nasuta, has not in fact been named, and is now described as R. innominata n.sp. The rough skate, R. nasuta, is brownish above, usually marked with numerous small white spots and dark spots or blotches and a pair of dark ocelli; below it is predominantly white; dorsally it has prickles on most of the disc (females) or in a middorsal-trunk band (males) at all ages; ventrally the abdominal region lacks prickles except for a few in large females; the tail in medium to large specimens is relatively wide, usually with three rows of spines, and there are 56–57 predorsal-caudal vertebrae. The smooth skate, R. innominata, is greyish above, usually marked with several large dark spots; below it is predominantly grey; in subadults there are generally no prickles dorsally on the disc, but medium to large specimens develop prickles on the snout, in a middorsal-trunk band, and po sterolaterally on the disc; medium to large specimens of both sexes have prickles ventrally on the gill and abdominal regions, and females of this size are extensively prickly below; the tail is relatively narrow, usually with one row of spines (three in large specimens), and there are 50–53 predorsal-caudal vertebrae. Either species may be conspecific with Australian skates, but there are insufficient data on the latter for proper comparison. The deep-water skate R. richardsoni Garrick, 1961, is here referred to Batliyraja. Two new species of Bathyraja are described from New Zealand material, and a third species, known from a single juvenile, is discussed but not named. Bathyraja asperula n.sp. has the upper disc surface smooth apart from a middorsal-trunk band of prickles, while B. spinijera n.sp. has the upper disc surface entirely covered with prickles. Although meristic features including vertebral counts separate both these species from those described from other regions the genus is inadequately known, and asperula and spiniiera could prove to be only nominally endemic. Additional specimens of the endemic Arhynchobatis asperrimus Waite, 1909, including the first known males, are listed and briefly discussed, but not described. A key is given to the seven known New Zealand rajoid skates.

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