Small-eyed ray
(Raja microocellata)
Image source: Jo's Animal Database
General data
The smalleyed ray or smalleyed skate (Raja microocellata) is a species of ray in the family Rajidae, the typical rays and skates, from the eastern Atlantic Ocean where it is found in tidal, coastal waters with sandy substrates.
The smalleyed ray is a smaller species of skate which can attain a total length of 87 centimetres (34 in) and a weight of 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb).
It has the typical dorsoventrally flattened body of its family and had distinctively small eyes and spiracles situated on the top of its head. The snout is pointed and the tail begins from rhomboid pectoral discs. It is greyish olive to light brown in colour with lighter patches on its back, there are also pale streaks which run parallel to the margins of the wings. The belly is white. It has spines which run along the tail and the body\\\'s midline, these are set very close together and are directed inwards at right angles.
The smalleyed ray is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the south western waters of Great Britain and Ireland to the Rio de Oro in the Western Sahara. It is absent from the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In Britain and Ireland it is commonest in the Bristol Channel and off Ireland.
