Notoraja hesperindica, a new deep-sea softnose skate is described based on six specimens caught in 1230–1600 m depths off southern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean.
The new species is a medium-sized species of Notoraja Ishiyama, 1958 reaching a total length of at least 539 mm. It is the only Notoraja species known from the western Indian Ocean and differs from most congeners in the intense dark blue-grayish coloration. The only congeners with similarly vibrant coloration are Notoraja azurea McEachran & Last, 2008 from off southern Australia and Notoraja sapphira Séret & Last, 2009 from the Norfolk Ridge (Coral Sea and Tasman Sea).
WEIGMANN, S. & SÉRET, B. & STEHMANN, M.F.W. 2021 Notoraja hesperindica sp. nov., a new colorful deep-sea softnose skate (Elasmobranchii, Rajiformes, Arhynchobatidae) and first generic record from the western Indian Ocean. Marine Biodiversity, 51: 35.https://link.springer.com/.../10.1007%2Fs12526-021-01162-3
