Rays

Rough ray

Raja radula

A small Mediterranean skate that rests on sand and often goes unseen. No sighting is a promise.

EndangeredIn 11 Atlas countries

Endangered (IUCN, 2016) means the species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Rough ray resting on a sandy seabed, with pale spots and eye-like marks on its disc — Photo: Jennie Pistevos, iNaturalist, CC BY

Faint outline of a rough ray lying on sand in shallow water — Photo: Jennie Pistevos, iNaturalist, CC BY

Rough ray resting on pale sand next to seagrass leaves — Photo: Daniel Benák, iNaturalist, CC BY

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Females up to about 80 cm (31 in) and males up to about 65 cm (26 in) total length, per Wikipedia

Weight

Not given in the sources I opened, so the weight is unknown here

Next to a person

At most about half as long as a tall adult is tall

What it eats

Animals living on the seabed: shrimp-like crustaceans, fish and molluscs. Small rays take mostly crustaceans, larger ones more fish. It will also scavenge.

Around people

Calm, give space

How it lives

It lives on sandy or muddy seabeds from about 2 to 300 m, though a 2026 study in the Balearic Islands found it restricted to water shallower than 150 m. It lays eggs. The egg cases are 5.1 to 5.7 cm and hatch in about four months, and hatchlings are 5 to 6 cm. Breeding goes on all year, peaking in late spring and early summer. Females mature at about 34 cm disc width and males at about 30 cm. Females live up to 12 years and males up to 9.

Where it goes

The sources I opened describe it only from the Mediterranean and do not give migration routes. A 2026 study found all three genetic variants in the Balearic Islands only there, which suggests that group is genetically isolated. Some country links on the Atlas, especially in West Africa, come from occurrence records that I could not confirm in these sources.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Listed as Endangered by IUCN (2016). It is thought to be found only in the Mediterranean. The main threat is bycatch in trawl, gill, trammel, bottom longline and purse seine fisheries. A 2026 study in the Balearic Islands found it still abundant there, with survey records nearly twice as frequent as in the Aegean Sea, but also a 15-year decline in the share of large individuals.

Meet it respectfully

Rough rays often lie still on sand, sometimes half buried. Watch from a distance, never touch, chase or feed one, and avoid kicking up sand over it. I did not read any local viewing rules for this species.

Fun fact

Tap the bulb to light it up.

Sources for this page

Facts checked 5 October 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.

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