Contribution à la biologie des Rajidae des côtes tunisiennes 6. Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809 Régime alimentaire

Abstract

All the year round, Raja asterias feeds on crustaceans, teleosteans and molluscs. The adults of both sexes eat more teleosteans and less crustaceans than do the young. There are no important seasonal variations about the nutrition of this species and there is no relation between the nutritive cycle and the reproductive cycle in the females. A comparative study of the nutrition of four rays from Tunisian coasts (Raja asterias, R. miraletus, R. radula, R. clavata) points out that the number of the species caught by these fishes is not only dependent on the zoological environment but also of the maximal size reached by the fish.