Starry Skate Amblyraja radiata - The Shark Trust

Dorsal View (♀) 

COMMON NAMES 

Starry Skate Amblyraja radiata 

Starry Skate, Starry Ray, Thorny Skate, Maiden Ray, Miller Ray, Raie 

Radiee (Fr), Raya Radiante (Es). 

SYNONYMS 

Raia americana (DeKay, 1842), Raia scabrata (Garman, 1913), Raja 

radiata (Müller & Henle, 1841), Deltaraia radiata (Leigh-Sharpe, 1924). 

DISTRIBUTION 

Map base conforms with ICES grid squares. 

Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009 

No Records 

Occasional 

Range 

Found in the east 

Atlantic from the 

English Channel 

as far north as 

Svalbarg and 

across to Iceland. 

In the west Atlantic 

it is found from 

South Carolina 

as far north as 

Canada and 

Greenland (Kittle, 

Unknown). There 

are some reports 

of the species 

in deepwater 

off South Africa 

(Whitehead et 

al.,1986). 

APPEARANCE 

• Maximum total length ~90cm. 

• Dorsal surface brown and covered in dark spots. 

• Sometimes one white spot beside each eye. 

• Ventral surface white, occasionally with dark blotches. 

• Row of 13-17 thorns along midline to first dorsal fin. 

• Maximum of 10 of these on tail (measured from cloaca). 

• Thorns have star shaped bases. 

Ventral View (♀) 

The Starry Skate has a short, blunt snout and rounded pectoral fin 

tips. The dorsal fins can be joined at the bases or slightly separate. 

There is occasionally a single thorn between them if seperate 

(Whitehead et al., 1986). The leading edge of the disc is concave in 

females and juveniles, more undulate in males (Stehmann and Bürkel, 

2000). 

There is a row of 13-17 large thorns along the midline of the back 

from the head to the first dorsal fin and smaller thornlets scattered 

all over the upper surface of the disc and tail. These thorns have 

star shaped bases giving the species its common name. The ventral 

surface of the disc is smooth except for some prickles on the snout 

(Whitehead et al., 1986). 

The dorsal surface of the disc is generally brown and can be 

covered in darker spots organised into rosettes. These are more 

distinctive in younger animals (Whitehead et al., 1986). There is 

sometimes a white spot beside each eye, one on each side. Single 

white spots can sometimes be found on each side of the rear of 

the disc. The ventral surface is white, sometimes with dark blotches 

(Kittle, Unknown). Rarely there are dark and light crossbars on the 

NE ATL 

NE ATL: LC 

NT 

RJR

SIMILAR SPECIES 

Starry Skate 

tail, making confusion with the Thornback Ray, Raja clavata, possible (Stehmann and Bürkel, 2000).The Starry Skate can reach a maximum total 

length of 90cm in deep water and higher latitudes. This is reduced to around 60cm in shallower water and lower latitudes. In the latter case it 

matures at around 40cm but in the deeper, more northerly populations it may still be immature at 80cm (Whitehead et al., 1986). Mature males 

have extremely large claspers with thickened, club-like ends and a single, stiff spine on the upper lobe of each (Stehmann and Bürkel, 2000). 

Amblyraja hyperborea, Arctic Skate 

Leucoraja fullonica, Shagreen Ray 

Raja asterias, Starry Ray (not illustrated) 

Raja clavata, Thornback Ray 

Amblyraja hyperborea, 

Arctic Skate 

Raja clavata, 

Thornback Ray 

(Not to scale) 

Supported by: 


Amblyraja radiata, 

Starry Skate 

Leucoraja fullonica, 

Shagreen Ray

TEETH 


The dentition consists of 36-46 rows of teeth 

with round bases on each jaw plate. Females 

and juveniles have low cusps which are worn 

almost smooth in the older rows. Mature 

males have sharper, more widely spaced 

teeth which are used to hold the female 

during copulation (Kittle, Unknown). They 

may also be indicative of a difference in diet 

between the sexes, although this has not 

been observed (Packer et al., 2003). 

ECOLOGY & BIOLOGY 

HABITAT 

The Starry Skate is found in marine and brackish waters in depths 

ranging from 18 to 1,200m (60–3,940ft) and temperatures of -1.3- 

14°C (29.7–57.2°F), although it is predominantly encountered from 

50–100m (164–328ft) in temperatures of 2-5°C (35.6–41°F). It can 

tolerate salinity levels of 31.2-35.3 parts per thousand. A bottom 

dwelling species in coastal seas and on continental shelves, It is 

found over a variety of substrates such as sand, gravel and soft mud 

(Kittle, Unknown). 

DIET 

Studies from across the North Atlantic have shown that the Starry 

Skate is an opportunistic feeder, feeding on the most abundant 

and available prey species in an area (Skjæraasen and Bergstad, 

2000). In the northwest Atlantic, polychaetes and decapods are 

the major prey items followed by amphipods and euphausiids. 

Fishes and mysids are present but constitute a small part of the 

diet (McEachran et al., 1976). It is apparently not uncommon for the 

Starry Skate to feed on trawler discards (Berestovskii, 1989). 

REPRODUCTION 

The Starry Skate is oviparous and, in the Gulf of Maine at least, 

reproductively active all year round (Kittle, Unknown). As with most 

elasmobranchs it matures relatively late. In North American and 

Canadian waters it reaches a maximum recorded age of 16 years 

and does not reach sexual maturity until 11 years of age at a length 

of 88cm for males and 86.5cm for females (Kittle, Unknown). 

The females lay up to 88 eggcases (usually with more in the 

right ovary than the left) per year (Whitehead et al., 1986) which 

are deposited on sand or mud substrates (Kittle, Unknown). These 

eggcases measure 42-66mm long (excluding horns) and 25-53mm 

wide (Whitehead et al., 1986). Laboratory studies have shown 

the incubation period for these eggcases can be as long as 2-2.5 

years in water temperatures of -0.3-9.5°C. When the young finally 

emerge they are fully formed and measure 10.4–11.4cm in length 

(Berestovskii, 1994). 

It is thought that Starry Skate eggcases are eaten by a variety 

of fish such as Atlantic Halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, and the 

Greenland Shark, Somniosus microcephalus (Kittle, Unknown). 


EGGCASE 

1. Small, 34-89mm in length (excluding horns). 

2. 23–68mm in width. 

3. Obvious keels (Shark Trust, 2008). 

Similar eggcase to the Thornback Ray, Raja clavata.

COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE 

Historically, the Starry Skate has not been commercially important 

due to its small size. However, it is regularly taken and sold in 

multispecies trawls across its range. As populations of other species 

of skate decline it is likely that it will be targeted, a process that has 

already begun in the western Atlantic (Kittle, Unknown). 

THREATS, CONSERVATION, LEGISLATION 

The Starry Skate is the most abundant skate in the North Sea and 

it is possible that its population has increased to fill the niche left 

by falling populations of larger species such as the Common Skate, 

Dipturus batis and the Long-nosed Skate, Dipturus oxyrinchus. In 

the central North Sea, a marked increase in numbers was observed 

between 1970 and 1983 with similar increases being observed 

between 1982 and 1991 across English waters. A recent survey 

indicated a decline but this is believed to be a result of a change in 

survey gear (Gibson et al., 2006). 

It is common throughout the northeast Atlantic but is not so 

abundant in the northwest. The government of the USA has recently 

banned commercial targeting of the species in response to reports 

of falling populations along the coast of North America (Kittle, 

Unknown). In the Black Sea, it can regularly constitute as much as 

96% of the elasmobranchs caught in survey trawls or as bycatch 

(ICES, 2008b). 

All rajids are managed under a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) 

system in EU waters. Between 1999 and 2005 the 6,060t TAC was 

reduced by 47% and by a further ~50% from 2005 to 2008 (ICES, 

2008). Originally the TAC applied only to areas IIa and IV, however in 

January 2009 the TAC was extended to include ICES divisions IIa, IIIa, 

IV, VIa-b, VIIa-k, VII and IX. 

The table below gives a summary of the TAC’s for the years 2004 to 

2009. 

ICES 

Division 

2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2009 

IIa, IV 3,503 3,220 2,737 2,190 1,643 1,643 

IIIa N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 68 

VIa-b, 

VIIa-c, 

VIIe-k 

Supported by: 

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 15,748 

VIId N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 1,044 

VIII, IX N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6,423 

(All figures in tons. European Union, 2009) 

Since 2008, European countries have been required to record 

most skate and ray landings by species to give a clearer picture of 

the status of populations in EU waters (ICES, 2008a). 

Some Sea Fisheries Committees (SFC) around the UK have 

byelaws which stipulate a minimum disc width (DW) for landed 

skates and rays, measured from the extreme tips of the pectoral fins. 

These range from 36 to 45cm depending on the area (NFFO, 2004). 

Many recreational anglers return any sharks, skates and rays 

they catch alive and some angling clubs have begun tag and release 

programmes (Holt, 2005). However, such localised management 

strategies are unlikely to be significant for the conservation of wider 

populations (Fowler et al., 2005). 


IUCN RED LIST ASSESSMENT 

Vulnerable (2008). 

Least Concern in northeast Atlantic. 

HANDLING AND THORN ARRANGEMENT 

• Handle with care. 

• Row of strong thorns on midline. 

• Large thorns on shoulder and nape. 

Starry Skate

REFERENCES 


BERESTOVSKII, E. G. 1989. Feeding in the skates, Raja radiata and 

Raja fyllae, in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. J. Ichthyol. 29: 

88-96. 

BERESTOVSKII, E. G. 1994. Reproductive biology of skates of the 

family Rajidae in the seas of the far north. J. Ichthyol. 34: 26-37. 

EUROPEAN UNION. 2009. Council Regulation (EC) No. 43/2009. 

Official Journal of the European Union, L22/1. 

FOWLER, S. L., CAVANAGH, R. D., CAMHI, M., BURGESS, G. H., 

CAILLIET, G. M., FORDHAM, S. V., SIMPFENDORFER, C. A., 

MUSICK, J. A. 2005. Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of 

the Chondrichthyan Fishes. IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. 

IUCN Publications. Cambridge, UK. 

GIBSON, C., VALENTI, S. V., FOWLER, S. L., FORDHAM, S. V., 2006. The 

Conservation Status of Northeast Atlantic Chondrichthyans; 

Report of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group Northeast Atlantic 

Regional Red List Workshop. VIII + 76pp. IUCN SSC Shark 

Specialist Group. 

HOLT, D. 2005. Common Skate tagging programme. The Scottish 

Angling Homepage. www.catchalot.co.uk. 

ICES. 2008a. Demersal elasmobranchs in the North Sea (Subarea 

IV), Skagerrak (Division IIIa), and eastern English Channel 

(Division VIId). ICES advice 2008, Book 6. 

ICES. 2008b. Report of the Working Group Elasmobranch Fishes. 

Copenhagen, Denmark. 

KITTLE, K. Unknown. Thorny Skate. Florida Museum of Natural 

History. www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/. 

MCEACHRAN, J. D., BOESCH, D. F., MUSICK, J. A. 1976. Food division 

within two sympatric species-pairs of skates (Pisces: Rajidae). 

Mar. Biol. 35: 301-317. 

NFFO. 2004. Official Yearbook and Diary. Grimsby, UK. 

PACKER, D. B., ZETLIN, C. A., VITALIANO, J. J. 2003. Thorny Skate, 

Amblyraja radiata, Life History and Habitat Characteristics. 

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-178. 

SHARK TRUST. 2008. Identify Your Eggcase. www.sharktrust.org. 

SKJÆRAASEN, J. E. BERGSTAD, O. A. 2000. Distribution and feeding 

ecology of Raja radiata in the North-eastern North Sea and 

Skagerrak (Norwegian Deep). ICES J. Mar. Sci. 57: 1249-1260. 

STEHMANN, M., BÜRKEL, L. 2000. Field key to Common Skate 

Species (Raja spp.) in Northern EC Shelf Waters. Grafik Design 

Studio GmbH. Hamburg, Germany. 

WHITEHEAD, P. J. P., BAUCHOT, M. L., HUREAU, J. C., NIELSEN, J., 


TORTONESE, E. (Eds.). 1986. Fishes of the Northeast Atlantic and 

Mediterranean. UNESCO. Paris, France. 

Text: Richard Hurst. 

Illustrations: Marc Dando. 

Citation 

Shark Trust; 2009. An Illustrated Compendium of Sharks, Skates, Rays 

and Chimaera. Chapter 1: The British Isles. Part 1: Skates and Rays. 

Any ammendments or corrections, please contact: 

The Shark Trust 

4 Creykes Court, The Millfields 

Plymouth, Devon PL1 3JB 

Tel: 01752 672008/672020 

Email: enquiries@sharktrust.org 

For more ID materials visit www.sharktrust.org/ID. 

Registered Company No. 3396164. 

Registered Charity No. 1064185

Starry Skate Amblyraja radiata - The Shark Trust

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