The First Record of a Spawning Ground of the Mud Skate Bathyraja taranetzi (Dolganov, 1983) and the Okhotsk Skate B. violacea (Suvorov, 1935) in Pacific Waters off the Northern Kuril Islands

Abstract

A spawning ground of the Mud Skate Bathyraja taranetzi and the Okhotsk Skate B. violacea was recorded for the first time from Pacific waters off the northern Kuril Islands. It was located at 50°25′7″ N, 157°22′7″ E, and a depth of 350–351 m; the water temperature was 3.8°C. At the spawning ground, egg cases and recently hatched juveniles were found in large numbers.