Identification
A compact ray reaching a little over a metre in total length, with a short, bluntly pointed snout and fairly rounded wingtips. The back is warm tan to orange-brown, softly mottled in darker and lighter browns. Its signature is the thorns: large and close-set, each on a broad flat base with fine ridges radiating out like a small rosette — hence the name. A regular row of thirteen to seventeen large thorns runs from the nape to the first dorsal fin. Those thorns are distinctly paler, almost ivory, so the row down the back stands out against the brown. The eyes are small but protrude slightly above the disc under a raised brow ridge.
Behaviour & ecology
A cold-water species, occurring in the North Sea mainly in the deeper northern part mainly over sand and mud. It takes crustaceans, bristle worms and small fish picked off the bottom. Like other rays it lays egg cases on the seabed. It grows slowly and matures late.
In the Netherlands
Here it is a species of deeper northern water and is rare inshore. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Vulnerable globally — a status driven largely by steep declines in the Northwest Atlantic; the European assessment is Least Concern. Under an EU rule, EU fishing vessels may not fish for starry ray, keep it on board or land it in the North Sea, the Dutch part included. We found no rule that names starry ray for anglers. VisScanner still advises putting it back, because it grows slowly and matures late. Do it quickly and with as little harm as possible.
