Shagreen ray facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shagreen ray |
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The shagreen ray (Leucoraja fullonica) is a type of skate, which is a flat fish related to sharks. It's also known as the shagreen skate or fuller's ray. This interesting fish lives in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
You can find the shagreen ray in cold waters from Murmansk, Russia, all the way down to western Morocco and the Madeira islands. It lives near Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. It's also found in the Celtic Sea and the northern North Sea. However, it usually avoids the shallow waters near England and Wales. Sometimes, it even shows up in the Mediterranean Sea.
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What's in a Name?
The name "shagreen" comes from a special type of rough leather. This leather is often made from the skins of sharks and rays. It's usually dyed green and feels bumpy.
The name "fuller's ray" comes from an old tool called a "fuller's instrument." Fullers were people who used to smooth out cloth. The ray's back is rough and spiny, just like the tool they used, which is how it got this unique name!
How to Spot a Shagreen Ray
Body Shape and Size
The shagreen ray has a body that looks like a flat disc, a bit wider than it is long. Its front edges curve inward, and its snout (nose) is pointed like a cone. Its tail is shorter than its body disc.
This ray has two small dorsal fins (fins on its back) that are about the same size. It also has a tiny caudal fin (tail fin). Its eyes and mouth are quite large. It has many pointed teeth, around 64 in its upper jaw and 56 in its lower jaw.
Skin and Color
The top of the shagreen ray's body feels rough. It has patches of large spines on its snout, around its eyes, and on its shoulders. There are also two rows of about 50 spines each, running down the middle of its back to its first dorsal fin. It doesn't have any spines between its dorsal fins.
The underside of the ray is smooth, except for the front edge of its body disc and the base of its tail. Its color is usually a plain gray or brown on top, with smaller, darker dots. Its underside is white. A shagreen ray can grow up to 120 centimeters (about 4 feet) long!
Where They Live and What They Eat
Habitat
Shagreen rays prefer relatively cold water. They live on the upper parts of the continental slopes, which are the sloping areas of the seafloor that connect the shallow coastal waters to the deep ocean. You can find them at depths from 30 to 550 meters (about 100 to 1,800 feet).
They are most commonly found around 200 meters deep. In warmer, southern areas, they tend to live even deeper. They like sandy areas and might also live in rocky places on the seabed.
Diet
The shagreen ray is a benthic animal, meaning it lives on the bottom of the sea. It eats a variety of other animals that also live on the seabed. Its main food source is other fishes, but it also enjoys eating crustaceans, like crabs and shrimp.
Reproduction and Conservation
Life Cycle
Like other skates, the shagreen ray reproduces by laying eggs. This is called being oviparous. Their egg capsules are amber (yellowish-brown) in color and shaped like an oblong. Each capsule has long, stiff "horns" at each corner. One pair of these horns is longer than the capsule itself.
These egg capsules are usually about 7.5 to 9.9 centimeters (3 to 3.9 inches) long and 4.5 to 4.7 centimeters (1.8 to 1.9 inches) wide.
Fishing and Status
In the past, people didn't think the shagreen ray was very good to eat. Today, it is caught by commercial fishing boats. Fishermen catch them using longlines (long fishing lines with many hooks) and trawls (large nets pulled behind boats).
