Morphological aspects related to feeding of two marine skates Morphological aspects related to feeding of two marine skates Morphological aspects related to feeding of two marine skates Morphological aspects related to feeding of two marine skates Narcine brasiliensis

Narcine brasiliensis and Rhinobatos horkelli live in coastal waters close to the sea bottom and are commonly found in the same places. Feeding and some body measures of these species such as relative height and width and mouth width were studied. Results showed significant differences for stomach contents composition. N. brasiliensis feeds mainly on burrowing crustaceans and polychaets, whilst R. horkelli feeds on free living crustaceans. Body proportions show also significantly distinct results between the species. The former presents greater height and width, suggesting a slower species. Besides, this species uses electric discharges to detect its food and has a protruding mouth to catch it. On the other hand, the latter shows morphological features which apparently give it higher swimming speed to catch moving organisms faster than those explored by N. brasiliensis .