The systematics of eastern North Pacific (ENP) chondrichthyans is very poorly known. Many of the species were first described over 100 years ago and the original descriptions in many cases are quite poor. Some groups, such as the skates, exhibit strong variation between adult male and female forms, which further complicates identification. This is a serious concern since many of these species are taken in large numbers, but cannot be properly identified without adequate guides. To date, representatives of all six known Bathyraja species from CA, OR, and WA have been examined either from material obtained through NMFS research cruises conducted out of their SCL and NWFSC facilities or from museum collections at the California Academy of Sciences, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography Vertebrate Museum. Detailed studies of these specimens will result in improved identification keys and a better understanding of the distribution and fisheries importance of skates in the ENP. PSRC personnel are consulting and collaborating on this project with leading experts at the Shark Research Center, Cape Town, South Africa and at Texas A&M University.

An investigation of the taxonomic status of two butterfly rays, Gymnura crebripunctata and G. marmorata, is near completion. These butterfly rays have been reported from the tropical and warm temperate waters between southern California and Peru, and are an important component of small-scale fisheries throughout the region. The primary features used to distinguish the two species have been reported to be highly variable or sexually dimorphic among other butterfly rays. Researchers at the PSRC in conjunction with scientists from Nova University and Mexico’s national fisheries agency, Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, initiated a study to resolve the taxonomic controversy using molecular genetic and morphometric analysis. Results indicate that the two species are not valid, but are male and female forms of the same species, G. marmorata.