Fish
Undulate Ray
Raja undulata
Over a sandy patch among the rocks off the Channel Islands, an undulate ray glides slowly, its back traced with pale wavy lines like the ripples in the sand.
Overview
The undulate ray, Raja undulata, is an Endangered ray of sandy and gravelly seabeds in the north-eastern Atlantic. Its wavy pattern and its decline under heavy fishing make it one of the most beautiful and most threatened rays in British waters.
A ray with a pattern like water
The pale wavy lines across the undulate ray’s back echo the ripples on the seabed, and protect it from predators as it lies on the sand.
Status
Endangered, surviving mainly in a few strongholds.
Undulate Ray: common questions
Why is it called the undulate ray?
Its back is marked with pale, wavy, undulating lines.
Why is the undulate ray endangered?
It has been caught in large numbers by trawls and nets, which have reduced it over much of its range.
Where can undulate rays still be found?
They survive in significant numbers in a few places, such as the Channel Islands and parts of the Bristol Channel and Brittany.
Where is the undulate ray found?
It lives on sandy and gravelly seabeds of the north-eastern Atlantic, from the British Isles to West Africa.