Species of the Month April 2017

Thornback Ray Raja clavata

 

Although most of us will never be lucky enough to get close to a Thornback Ray, nor the other shark species which frequent british waters, we can record their presence via the eggcases which wash up on shore. The Thornback Ray's eggcase can be confirmed by the defined keel down each side. Please take a look at the Shark Trust's Great Eggcase Hunt for instructions on collecting and preparing eggcases for identification.

There is a colony of Thornback Ray off shore of Swansea, and the eggcases wash up all along the south Wales coast, but there are only 5 records in the SEWBReC database. You can view the Welsh distribution here on Aderyn. For more information about eggcases you can look out for is available from the Shark Trust.

If you spot Thornback Ray eggcase during April (or at any other time of year), please send us the record, ideally via SEWBReCORD or the LERC Wales App. Instructions on how to submit records are available here.