Ray
Spearnose Skate
Rostroraja alba
A large, pale skate with a pointed snout and thorny disc, living over deeper sand and reef off the Cape.
Also known as bottlenose skate, spearnose, spearnose ray, white skate
- Typical size
- Commonly to about 1.5 m, occasionally larger
- Habitat
- Deeper sand, mud and mixed ground
- Depth
- About 20-400 m
The spearnose or white skate is a big, flat-bodied skate with a distinctly long, pointed snout and a broad, rhomboid disc. It is pale grey to brownish above, often with light spotting, and whitish below, with rows of thorns along the back and tail.
It lives on sand, mud and mixed ground in deeper water along the southern and western South African coast, feeding on fish, crabs and other bottom prey. Slow-growing and long-lived, the species is sensitive to fishing pressure and considered threatened in parts of its range, so captures are best released. It lays its young in horny egg cases.