An exploratory analysis of skate speciation using DNA identification techniques

Two regions of the mitochondrial DNA, part of the cytochrome b gene and the control region, were sequenced in specimens of Antarctic skates from the Ross Sea (Pacific Ocean sector), the Australian Antarctic Territory (Indian Ocean sector), and around Elephant Island and the South Shetland Islands (Atlantic Ocean sector). Based on the DNA results, the species of Bathyraja referred to as B. eatonii in the Ross Sea appears to be a discrete sister species to B. eatonii from the Atlantic sector. In contrast, the DNA results for the undescribed species Bathyraja n. sp. would suggest that this species is common to the Atlantic and Pacific (Ross Sea) Ocean sectors. Two specimens of B. maccaini from the Atlantic sector and Indian Ocean sector appeared similar.