Torpedo marmorata (Risso, 1810)

Marbled Electric Ray

Torpedo marmorata

Description: The marbled electric ray has a rounded,disc-like body with smooth skin and a short, thick tail with a large tail fin. The two dorsal fins are located on the tail, they are almost equal in size and are close together. The upper surface is pale brown with darker brown mottling and the underside is creamy-white. The marbled electric ray is generally much smaller than the electric ray (Torpedo nobiliana) reaching a maximum length of 60cm.

Habitat: The marbled electric ray is usually found on sandy or muddy seabeds at depths between 10-30m although in the Mediterranean it has been recorded at depths down to 100m. It feeds in a similar way to (Torpedo nobiliana), by catching bottom-living fish and stunning or killing them with an electric shock before eating them.

Distribution: This is a southern species in the British Isles, and so far it has only been recorded from the southern coasts of Britain and Ireland. Most of the records have been in the summer or autumn suggesting that there is a northward migration from the Mediterranean earlier in the summer.

Similar Species: The only other electric ray that occurs in the waters around Britain and Ireland is (Torpedo nobiliana). The two species are easily distinguished by their coloration which is marbled pale and dark brown in the marbled electric ray and dark greyish-blue to brown in (Torpedo nobiliana).

Key Identification Features:

• Ray with circular, disc-like body
• Short tail with large, broad tail fin
• Upper surface marbled pale brown and dark brown
• Seven papillae-like processes around inner edge of spiracles

Distribution Map: NBN map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

WoRMS: Species record : World Register of Marine Species.

iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database