The scavenger endothelial cells (SECs) of vertebrates are an important class of endocytic cells responsible for clearance of foreign and physiological waste macromolecules, partitioning in the immune system, functioning as a cellular powerplant by producing high energy metabolites like lactate and acetate. All animal phyla possess SECs, but the tissue localization of SECs has only been investigated ...

The Greenland shark (<i>Somniosus microcephalus</i>, Squaliformes: Somniosidae) is a long-lived Arctic top predator, which in combination with the high historical and modern fishing pressures, has made it subject to increased scientific focus in recent years. Key aspects of reproduction are not well known as exemplified by sparse and contradictory information e.g. on birth size and number of pups ...

The basal prerequisite for managing species and understanding ecosystems is correct species and population identification. Without knowing the species, we cannot with accuracy detect changes in distribution or abundance due to climate change, fisheries, diseases or any other types of impact. This thesis gives the first complete overview of chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras), ...

Morphological similarities between skates of the genus Dipturus in the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean have resulted in longstanding confusion, misidentification and misreporting. Current evidence indicates that the common skate is best explained two species, the flapper skate (D. intermedius) and the common blue skate (D. batis). However, some management and conservation initiatives developed ...

Management of thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the Northwest Atlantic has posed a conservation dilemma for several decades due to the species' lack of response to strong conservation efforts in the US Gulf of Maine and the Canadian Scotian Shelf, confusion over the relationship between two reproductive size morphs of differing life histories that are sympatric in the Northwest Atlantic, and ...