The spotted ray or spotted skate (Raja montagui) is a species of skate in the family Rajidae.
Distribution
The Spotted ray is found in the Atlantic Ocean from the Irish Sea to Morocco, and in the Mediterranean as well.Guide of Mediterranean Skates and Rays (Raja montagui). Oct. 2022. Mendez L., Bacquet A. and F. Briand. http://www.ciesm.org/Guide/skatesandrays/raja-montagui It occurs on continental shelves between a depth of , and potentially as deep as . It lives over seabeds with soft substrates.
Description
Like all rays, the spotted ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. The body is sub-rhomboid. The dorsum is brown with dark spots which do not extend to the edges of the fins. The spotted ray has a dorsal surface which for juveniles is smooth and which becomes prickly as it grows. The ventral surface is smooth, apart from the gill, abdominal, and anterior disc margin areas. It is coloured white with greyish margins. There are 1-2 interdorsal thorns, and adult males have both alar and malar thorns. The snout is moderately long and it has a slightly pronounced tip. The upper and lower jaws have 38-60 rows.
Its maximum length is , making it one of the smallest skates.
Behaviour
The spotted ray buries itself in sand to ambush prey and avoid predators. It mainly feeds on crustaceans, polychaetes, teleosts and molluscs.
Life cycle
Spotted rays are oviparous with egg cases laid in summer. The pups hatch fully formed, about long, after 5 or 6 months. Females lay 60-70 egg cases, which measure in length and wide.
See also
References
External links
Fishbase Database: Raja montagui