Amblyraja radiata (Donovan, 1808)

Thorny skate

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Elasmobranchii \| Rajiformes \| Rajidae
Synonyms	Raja radiata, Raia americana, Raia scabrata, ... more
Common names	Raie radiée, Starry ray, Raya radiante, ... more

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Image of Amblyraja radiata (Thorny skate)

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn. 1998. (Ref. 27314)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 105 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 53748); max. published weight: 11.4 kg (Ref. 53748)

Length at first maturity

L_m 43.00, range 50 - 56 cm

Environment

Demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); brackish; marine; depth range 20 - 1000 m (Ref. 4426), usually 50 - 100 m (Ref. 4426)

Climate / Range

Temperate; 1°C - 10°C; 72°N - 33°N, 78°W - 41°E (Ref. 55275)

Eastern Atlantic: Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland to the English Channel, including the North Sea (except southern part) and the western part of the Baltic; also off Cape Town, South Africa (Ref. 5578). Western Atlantic: Greenland and Hudson Bay, Canada to South Carolina, USA (Ref. 7251).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Stiff, bluntly triangular snout and tail shorter than body (Ref. 5578). Disc rhombic in adults, rounder in young (Ref. 7251). Upper surface very rough, with solid thornlets scattered all over disc and tail, underside smooth, except for some prickles on snout; a constant pattern of separate orbital thorns, a regular row of 13-17 large thorns from nape to first dorsal fin (Ref. 3167); large, close-set thorns with star-shaped bases at upper disc (Ref. 5578). Brownish grey with scattered irregular black blotches dorsally; white ventrally, with darker spots and blotches on tail and pelvic fins; black spot on tip of tail (Ref. 2708).

Eurybathic, eurythermic (Ref. 4426) and benthic (Ref. 58426). Found on all kinds of bottoms (Ref. 3167); mainly on sandy and muddy bottoms (Ref. 82311). Feed on crustaceans, fish (sand lance, small haddock and sculpins (Ref. 5951)) and polychaete worms (Ref. 5578). Diet changes with size (Ref. 82311). Oviparous (Ref. 3167). Distinct pairing with embrace. Young may tend to follow large objects, such as their mother (Ref. 205). Eggs are oblong capsules with stiff pointed horns at the corners deposited in sandy or muddy flats (Ref. 205). Egg capsule measures 3.4-8.9 cm long and 2.3-6.8 cm wide (Ref. 41250). Probably taken by hake trawlers (Ref. 5578). Few are dried and salted in Iceland (Ref. 6902). It has been mentioned that North American specimens grow to a larger size than East-Atlantic specimens (Arve Lynghammar, pers.comm., 11/09).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 0.5010

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.17; tm=4; Fec=13-20)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High to very high vulnerability (70 of 100)	Medium

Entered by Froese, Rainer

Modified by Capuli, Estelita Emily

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