Rajella fyllae (Lütken, 1887)
Round ray
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Rajella fyllae is widely distributed, occurring on Atlantic coasts southward from Spitsbergen to southern Norway and westward to the Shetlands, Faroes, Iceland and southern Greenland. It is also found on the western coasts of the British Isles southward to the Bay of Biscay, and the Western North Atlantic south to Nova Scotia. It is commonly recorded between 300 and 800 m and occasionally recorded between 170 and 2,050 m. The species is only found in waters from 1 to 7 °C. (Whitehead et al., 1989).
Rajella fyallae has a very short snout with a roundish disc and outer corners. Its tail is conspicuously longer than its body. The upper surface of the body is ash-grey to dark brown and clouded with darker or paler areas. The tail often has dark crossbars on it. Rajella fyallae may grow up to 55 cm in length (Whitehead et al., 1989).
During the present survey, two individuals were observed. Both were resting on the seabed adjacent to the reefs and did not appear to be disturbed by the presence of the camera. One was recorded from the Darwin Mounds and one from the Sula Reef area.
The Round ray does not appear to be of commercial importance.
There is more information available for this species on FishBase.
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