Skate: Any species in the order Rajiformes. Although the English names for some skates refer to them as rays, the term ‘ray’ should refer to stingrays (Myliobatiformes) and electric rays (Torpediniformes)

Related information

Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM reports)
Working Group on Elasmobranch Fishes: www.ices.dk
Movements of thornback rays in the Thames estuary
Common skate Dipturus batis
White skate Rostroraja alba
Cuckoo skate Leucoraja naevus
Spotted skate Raja montagu
Starry skate Amblyraja radiata
Thornback skate Raja clavata
Blonde skate Raja brachyura
Smalleyed skate Raja microocellata
Undulate skate Raja undulata
Shagreen skate Leucoraja fullonica
Sandy skate Leucoraja circularis

Common Skate

Common Skate - Dipturus batis

Common skate

Common skate Dipturus batis has a long and pointed snout. An imaginary line from the tip of the snout to the tip of the wing would not touch the front of the disc. The dorsal surface is grey or brown, with a variable pattern of spots and blotches, and the ventral surface grey. 12-28 thorns run down the tail. Other long-snouted species (e.g. D. oxyrinchus and D. nidarosiensis) vary in the number of thorns on the tail.