''Raja'', also known as ''raia'', is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rajidae containing 16 species. Formerly a

wastebasket genus Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

, many species historically placed here have been moved to other genera in the family, such as ''

Amblyraja ''Amblyraja'' is a genus of skates that primarily are found in the Atlantic, but species also occur in the East and North Pacific, the Arabian Sea, the sub-Antarctic, and off Southern Australia and New Zealand. Species Ten recognized species ar ...

'', ''

Beringraja ''Beringraja'' is a genus of skates in the family Rajidae with up to six described species. Formerly, they were included in the genus '' Raja'' until 2012, when the genus ''Beringraja'' was erected for the two species which had multiple embryo ...

'', ''

Dipturus ''Dipturus'' is a large genus of skates native to the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. They were formerly included in ''Raja''. Some species initially moved to ''Dipturus'' were later placed in ''Dentiraja'', ''Spiniraja'', and '' Zearaja''. ...

'', ''

Leucoraja ''Leucoraja'' is a genus of hardnose skates in the family Rajidae, commonly known as the rough skates. They occur mostly on continental shelves and slopes in the north-western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the south-wes ...

'' and ''

Rostroraja ''Rostroraja'' is a genus of skate belonging to the family Rajidae, native to the Atlantic Ocean and East Pacific, including the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California. The genus was considered monotypic in the past (c ...

''. ''Raja'' are flat-bodied,

cartilaginous fish Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. ...

with a rhombic shapes due to their large pectoral fins extending from or nearly from the snouts to the bases of their tails. Their sharp snouts are produced by a cranial projection of rostral cartilage. The mouth and

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

are located on underside of the body. They may be either solid-coloured or patterned, and most skates have spiny or thorn-like structures on the upper surface, and some species contain weak electrical organs within their tails. Mating typically occurs in the spring and the female lays numerous

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

per clutch which are encapsulated in leathery cases, commonly known as " mermaid’s purses". Species vary in size, ranging from about in length. These bottom-dwellers are active during both day and night, and typically feed on molluscs, crustaceans and fish. ''Raja'' skates are found in the East Atlantic, including the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

, and western Indian Ocean, ranging from relatively shallow water to a depth of . Skates and related species have fossil records dating from the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

period, thus this well-adapted species is quite ancient.

Species

There are currently 16 species in this genus: * '' Raja asterias'' Delaroche, 1809 (Mediterranean starry ray) * ''

Raja brachyura The blonde ray or blonde skate (''Raja brachyura'') is a species of ray (fish), ray fish in the family Rajidae. Distribution The Blonde ray lives in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, at depths of 10–380 m. It is found occasionally in the Medite ...

Lafont Lafont is a Southern French surname. It may refer to: *Alban Lafont (born 1999), Burkinabé-born French footballer *Bernadette Lafont (1938–2013), French actress and the mother of Pauline Lafont *Bruno Lafont (born 1956), French businessman * C ...

, 1873 (blonde ray) * ''

Raja clavata The thornback ray (''Raja clavata''), or thornback skate, is a species of ray fish in the family Rajidae. Distribution The Thornback ray is found in the Atlantic coastal waters of Europe and western Africa. It is also present from south Afric ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...

(thornback ray) * ''

Raja eglanteria The clearnose skate (''Rostroraja eglanteria'') is a species of cartilaginous fish in the family Rajidae. ''R. eglanteria'' is also known by other common names such as the brier skate and summer skate. Clearnose skates are easily identified by ...

'' L. A. G. Bosc, 1800 (clearnose skate) * ''

Raja herwigi ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

'' G. Krefft, 1965 (Cape Verde skate) * ''

Raja maderensis ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

R. T. Lowe Richard Thomas Lowe (1802–1874) was an English scientist, a botanist, ichthyologist, malacologist, and a clergyman. In 1825 he graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge, and in the same year he took holy orders. In 1832 he became a clergyman in ...

, 1838 (Madeiran ray) * ''

Raja mauritaniensis ''Raja mauritaniensis'', commonly known as the African ray, is a species of ray in the family Rajidae. It is found at depths of in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Mauritania and Tunisia. This species was described in 1977, but the currently use ...

'' White & Fricke, 2021 (African ray) * '' Raja microocellata'' Montagu, 1818 (small-eyed ray) * ''

Raja miraletus ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

(brown ray) * ''

Raja montagui The spotted ray or spotted skate (''Raja montagui'') is a species of skate in the family Rajidae. Distribution The Spotted ray is found in the Atlantic Ocean from the Irish Sea to Morocco and in the Mediterranean as well. Description Like ...

'' Fowler, 1910 (spotted ray) * '' Raja ocellifera'' Regan, 1906 * ''

Raja parva Raja Parba (, ), also known as ''Mithuna Sankranti'', is a three-day-long festival of womanhood celebrated in Odisha, India. The second day of the festival signifies beginning of the solar month of Mithuna from, which the season of rains starts. ...

'' Last & Séret, 2016 (African brown skate) * '' Raja pita'' Fricke & Al-Hassan, 1995 (pita ray) * '' Raja polystigma''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1923 (speckled ray) * ''

Raja radula The rough ray (''Raja radula'') is a Mediterranean ray species of the Rajidae family described by François-Etienne de La Roche, Delaroche in 1809. Description The rough ray is named for the spinules that cover its upper surface. In juveniles an ...

'' Delaroche, 1809 (rough ray) * ''

Raja straeleni ''Raja straeleni'', the biscuit skate, false thornback skate, or spotted skate, is a species of marine fish in the skate family (family Rajidae) of order Rajiformes. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Description This skate has a blun ...

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

, 1951 (spotted skate) * ''

Raja undulata The undulate ray (''Raja undulata'') is a species of ray and cartilaginous fish found in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic from southern Ireland and England to the Gulf of Guinea. It is found in areas with mud or sand, and may occur as deep as ...

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in ...

, 1802 (undulate ray)

References

* "skate." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 08 Dec. 2009 . Rajidae Ray genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Rajiformes-stub

Species

See also

References