Undulate ray

The undulate ray (Raja undulata) is a species of skate and cartilaginous fish found in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic from southern Ireland and England to the Gulf of Guinea.

[1] The undulate ray features a disc-shaped body, triangular in the front and near-circular in the rear, and dermal denticles developed as spines for protection.

The colouring of the dorsal surface varies from light brown to citrine or grey, with darker waved bands and numerous small white patches.

[6] It is usually found on sandy, muddy or detrital bottoms, at depths of 50–200 m from coastal regions to the upper continental slope, even if it's sometimes possible to find it in shallower water.

[2] Like other benthonic species of similar size this ray is caught incidentally or intentionally by commercial fisheries using trawls, gillnets, and line gears.

Because of its late sexual maturity and low rate of population growth, undulate ray is extremely vulnerable to exploitation by fisheries.

[11] In the north Atlantic, populations have declined severely from the Irish area, and there are no longer records of catches of this species in the English Channel.

Young Raja undulata at the Aquarium of Genoa