Shagreen ray

D-Chagrinrochen; GB-Shagreenray; DK-Gøgerokke; PL-Raja kosmata; EST-Šagrään-helerai; RU-Шагреневый скат; S-Näbbrocka

Characters

1) one row of thorns on the body.
2) two rows of thorns in parallel on the tail.
3) no thorns between both dorsal fins.
●) snout rather pointed.
●) colour of surface uniformly grey to darkgrey without pattern.
Often 30 to 70 cm, up to max. 120 cm length.

Similar species

Common skate - single row of thorns limited to tail; thorns also present between dorsal fins.

Thornback ray - snout blunt; colour pattern on upper side; a row of strong thorns from back to tail.

Starry skate - snout blunt; a row of strong thorns from back to tail; upper side brownish.

Biology

Benthic on hard grounds, boulders and occasionally soft grounds, prefers colder water layers in 30 to 550 m depth; oviparous.

Diet

Prefers feeding on fish, but also on benthic invertebrates and crustaceans.

Importance

Of no commercial importance, fished only locally.

Endangerment

Often by-catch in trawl- and longline fisheries.