Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help
Researched by | Morvan Barnes | Refereed by | Admin |
Authority | (Bonaparte, 1835) | ||
Other common names | Atlantic torpedo ray | Synonyms | Torpedo nobiliana |
Tetronarce nobiliana can be distinguished from the marbled electric ray Torpedo marmorata by its colouration, which is uniform dark greyish-blue to dark brown in the electric ray and marbled pale and dark brown in Torpedo marmorata.
Electric rays are best known for their highly specialized electrogenic organs. They are generally kidney-shaped organs, composed of stacks of striated muscle plaques. All these plaques are enervated on the same side, so that any muscular contraction generates electricity. This ultimately produces an external shock, used by the electric rays to incapacitate prey or deter potential predators (Stehmann & Bürkel, 1984).
Cadenat, J., Capapé, C. & Desoutter, M., 1978. Description d'un torpedinidae nouveau des cô tes occidentales d'Afrique: Torpedo bauchotae (Torpediniformes, Pisces). Cybium, 4, 29-42
Campbell, A., 1994. Seashores and shallow seas of Britain and Europe. London: Hamlyn.
Froese, R. & Pauly, D., 2004. Fishbase. A global information system on fishes. [On-line] http://www.fishbase.org, 2004-10-18
Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]
Shark Trust, 2009. An Illustrated Compendium of Sharks, Skates, Rays and Chimaera. Chapter 1: The British Isles. Part 1: Skates and Rays. [Cited 06-07-2018] Available from https://www.sharktrust.org/fact-files
Stehmann, M. & Bürkel D.L., 1984. Torpedinidae. p. 159-162. In Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (eds. P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese). UNESCO, Paris.
Whitehead, P.J.P., Bauchot, M.-L., Hureau, J.-C., Nielson, J. & Tortonese, E. 1986. Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Vol. I, II & III. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.
OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System), 2023. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2023-03-30
This review can be cited as:
Last Updated: 24/06/2008