Understanding Undulate Rays in Sussex

admin
, 31 July 2023
Understanding Undulate Rays in Sussex
Undulate Ray © Julie Hatcher

Sophie Maplesden

Wild Coast Sussex Intern

For National Marine Week we are taking a closer look at the amazing Undulate Ray (Raja undulata), one of the lesser-known species found in Sussex waters.

The Undulate Ray is a globally endangered species according to the IUCN Red List and is a priority protected species in the UK. However, we are lucky here in Sussex to have a healthy population of Undulate Rays. This exotic looking species may not be what you’d expect to find in Sussex waters. While they are found in patchy distributions across the Mediterranean and East Atlantic, the population here in Sussex seems to be thriving, with their numbers increasing over the last decade.

They are found in inshore waters at depths of 20-200 metres where they reside on the seabed, feeding on crustaceans and small fish. Their brown spotted markings help them to camouflage against the seafloor and they often bury themselves beneath the sand and mud. They can grow up to 90cm long and can live for over 20 years.

The threats that Undulate Rays face include overfishing and habitat loss. The reasons for the increased numbers seen in Sussex are not fully known, but one reason may be due to our nine Marine Conservation Zones, in which fishing restricted. These allow the natural restoration of underwater environments which may provide habitats and nutrients for the Undulate Rays.

Despite being called the Undulate Ray, they are actually a species of skate. The difference between rays and skates lies in their reproductive methods: rays produce live offspring, while skates, including the Undulate Ray, lay eggs. Once hatched, these eggcases, also known as mermaid’s purses, often wash up onshore. If you’ve ever seen a mermaid’s purse on the beach in Sussex, it may well have come from an Undulate Ray.

Eggcases are a great way of collecting data about our local Undulate Ray population. The Shark Trust is running The Great Eggcase Hunt, where you can submit pictures and descriptions of any mermaids purses you come across to help them build on their knowledge of sharks, skates and rays in your local area.

Have you seen any mermaid’s purses? Join The Great Eggcase Hunt.

If you want to show your love for the Undulate Ray, check out our Undulate Ray T shirt by David Shrigley for Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Jenny Davies:

    Wonderful news and a great video. Thankyou.

    12 Aug 2023 16:26:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782788033.95380 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782788033.98280.0291Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782788033.9830.0001Server address: 216.73.217.103
1782788033.9830Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782788033.9830Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex
    [s] => understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex
    [1] => understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex
)
1782788033.98340.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788033.98450.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782788033.98680.0024 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782788033.98760.0008INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782788033.98960.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22438548
1782788033.99030.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22438548
1782788033.99110.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-30 02:53:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-30 02:53:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782788033.99270.0016 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-30 02:53:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782788033.99590.0032 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782788033.99670.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3149 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-30 02:53:00'
1782788033.99940.0027 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782788034.00040.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782788034.0020.0016 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=44 LIMIT 1
1782788034.0030.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=242 LIMIT 1
1782788034.00380.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782788034.0040.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782788034.0050.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-30 02:53:00' AND postSlug='understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex'
1782788034.02640.0214Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782788034.02710.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782788034.02870.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782788034.02890.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782788034.030.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782788034.03150.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782788034.03440.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.0350.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782788034.03710.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782788034.03720.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.03830.0011 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.03880.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.04160.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.0430.0013 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.04380.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782788034.04690.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.04790.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782788034.05030.0024 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782788034.05080.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782788034.05110.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782788034.05190.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782788034.05240.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='understanding-undulate-rays-in-sussex')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-30 02:53:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782788034.05460.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782788034.05520.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782788034.05910.0038Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782788034.06020.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3149 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782788034.11340.0533 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782788034.11420.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782788034.11440.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782788034.11520.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782788034.1160.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782788034.11660.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782788034.1190.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.11960.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782788034.12170.002 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782788034.1230.0014 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782788034.12370.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782788034.12430.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782788034.12690.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.12770.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782788034.13030.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782788034.13450.0041 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782788034.13560.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782788034.13610.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782788034.13870.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.13940.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782788034.14170.0022 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782788034.14430.0026 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782788034.14510.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782788034.14580.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782788034.14830.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782788034.14890.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782788034.15090.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782788034.15220.0014Request time: 0.2026
1782788034.15230Process time: 0.2022
1782788034.15230Memory: 1.6268