Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. More than 150 species have been described, in 17 genera. Softnose skates and pygmy skates were previously treated as subfamilies of Rajidae, but are now considered as distinct families. Alternatively, the name "skate" is used to refer to the entire order of Rajiformes.
Bathyraja is a large genus of skates in the family Arhynchobatidae.
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.
Gurgesiella is a genus of fish in the family Gurgesiellidae. These relatively small deep-water skates are found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans off South and Central America.
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-western Indian Ocean, and Australia.
Neoraja is a genus of fish in the family Rajidae found in the Atlantic Ocean. These small, deep-water skates all reach a total length of approximately 30 centimetres (12 in).
Rajella is a genus of skate found deeper than 150 m (490 ft) in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
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, but a number of species usually classified in Raja have been reassigned to this genus based on genetic analysis.
Arhynchobatidae is a family of skates whose members are commonly known as the softnose skates. It belongs to the order Rajiformes in the superorder Batoidea of rays. At least 104 species have been described, in 13 genera. Softnose skates have at times been placed in the same family as hardnose skates, but most recent authors recognize them as a distinct family. Members of the Arhynchobatidae can be distinguished from hardnose skates in having a soft and flexible snout, as well as a more or less reduced rostrum.
Springeria folirostris, the leaf-nose leg skate, is a species of ray in the family Anacanthobatidae, native to depths of 300–510 m (980–1,670 ft) in the Gulf of Mexico. It was originally described in the genus Springeria, but this was later considered a subgenus of Anacanthobatis. In 2016 Springeria was again elevated to full genus status.
Neoraja caerulea, also known as the blue ray or blue pygmy skate, is a species of fish in the family Rajidae. This small ray reaches a total length of approximately 30 centimetres (12 in) and is endemic to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean off Ireland and Iceland, and south to the Bay of Biscay. It occurs at depths of 600 to 1,262 metres.
Cruriraja is a genus of skates in the family Gurgesiellidae. They are primarily found in the warm West Atlantic and off southern Africa, but C. andamanica is from the Indian Ocean.
Fenestraja is a genus of eight species of skate in the family Gurgesiellidae. They are found in deeper waters of the western Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
Okamejei is a genus of small skates in the family Rajidae from the central and western Indo-Pacific, and the north-western Pacific Ocean.
The Norwegian skate, or black skate, is a species of skate found at depths of 200 m (660 ft) to over 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in the East Atlantic region. Initially its range was believed to be restricted to the Norwegian Sea and North Sea to the Bay of Biscay. It is occasionally encountered off the western coast of Ireland, and historically has been found near Rockall and in the Norwegian Deep, though recent surveys have not identified the species there. The species has frequently been confused with other skates, and since the late 1980s it has been confirmed to occur more widely, ranging from Iceland to Morocco, as well as off South Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sinobatis is a genus of rays in the family Anacanthobatidae native to deep water in the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Insentiraja subtilispinosa, commonly known as the western looseskin skate or velvet skate, is a common deep water skate in the family Arhynchobatidae.
Pygmy skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. Nineteen species in three genera are known.
Dipturus oxyrinchus, commonly known as the longnose skate, is a species of skate in the family Rajidae. It is up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) m in length. The species is found in eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Dentiraja endeavouri, the Endeavour skate, is a species of skate of the family Rajidae native waters off eastern Australia – Queensland and New South Wales.
