The present paper analyzes the diet, feeding strategy and niche
width of Bathyraja albomaculata over the Patagonian continental
shelf and upper slope. The diet comprised a variety of
14 small invertebrates, although the most important prey were
polychaete worms. The opheliid polychaete Travisia sp. and
the gammarid amphipod Cirolana sp. were the main prey
present in stomach contents of B. albomaculata. No differences
were found between the diets of males and females, however
ontogenetic changes were detected. Skates 40 cm DW
largely consumed polychaetes. As size increased, polychaetes
became more important and the importance of amphipods
decreased. B. albomaculata showed a narrow food niche and a
marked specialization towards polychaetes.