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‘Hedgehog’: a novel defensive posture in juvenile Amblyraja radiata
Author(s) -
Martin R. A.,
Rekdal E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.00922.x
Subject(s) - biology , juvenile , anatomy , radiata , hedgehog , ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , vigna , signal transduction
Three cases of a novel defensive posture in the starry skate Amblyraja radiata are reported. The posture, termed ‘hedgehog’, is a graded response to contact by a diver and features a head‐up attitude with the belly oriented toward the diver, apposed pectoral disc margin, and presentation of the thorny, electrogenic organ‐equipped tail. This is the first description of defensive posture in any Rajiformes under natural conditions.