Amblyraja hyperborea

E: Arctic skate, N: Isskate

Identification

Morphology:
Smooth and blotched ventral (bottom) surface, which is more dark for most adults. Dorsal (top) surface gray to brown, often with spots. Thorns on the dorsal surface which are central in identification (Mecklenburg et al., 2018). Width of disc 1.2-1.3 times the length (Last et al., 2016).
- Disc width/disc length: 1.20 (Kulka et al., 2024)
- Disc width/TL: 0.76 (Kulka et al., 2024)
- Tail length/TL: 0.366 (Kulka et al., 2024)
Size: Max TL ~112 cm. Reaches maturity at TL 80-90 cm (Last et al., 2016).
Weight: Reaches at least 5.2 kg (Wienerroither et al., 2011)

Habitat

Geographical Distribution:
Arctic and subarctic waters of the North Atlantic (Northeast and Northwest). Primarily found in high latitudes on continental and insular slopes. Also registered off South Africa, Australia and New Zealand (Wienerroither et al., 2011) (https://obis.org/taxon/105863). According to Mecklenburg et al. (2018) this is the only known skate in abyssal and bathyal depths of the Arctic.
- Schulz Bank (Brodnicke et al., 2023)
- DeepInsight (Marnor et al., 2026; Marnor et al., 2025)
Depth: Demersal, 92–3165 m (Mecklenburg et al., 2018; Last et al., 2016).
Physicochemical Conditions: Water temperatures -1.29 to 4°C (Mecklenburg et al., 2018).

Ecology

Mobility: Mobile
Food Web:
Skates are considered to be top predators (Byrkjedal et al., 2014). Feeds primarily on small benthic fishes and invertebrates (Last et al., 2016). Byrkjedal et al. (2014) list of prey in literature (shows that they feed on both benthic and pelagic prey):
- Annelida: Polychaeta indet.
- Crustacea: Themisto libellula, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, Thysanoessa inermis, Decapoda indet., Hymenodora glacialis, Pandalus borealis
- Fish: Lycodes frigidus, Lycodes sp., Sebastes sp., Clupea harengus, Mallotus villosus, Gaidropsarus argentatus, Boreogadus saida, Micromestistius poutassou
- They also present the fascinating observation of two female Amblyraja hyperborea caught in trawl surveys that were preying on Lycodes frigidus which TL was 50% and 80% of the skates TL. In both cases, the posterior part of the L. frigidus was protruding from the skate's mouth, and the head was partially digested inside the skate.

Life History

Life Span: Unknown.
Reproduction: Oviparous. Lays egg cases on the seabed (Wienerroither et al., 2011), often in discrete nursery areas. Egg cases in large numbers, indicating possible nursery grounds for Amblyraja hyperborea, have been observed in the DeepInsight area (Marnor et al., 2026) and at Schulz Bank (Meyer et al., 2023). It probably takes several years for the egg cases to hatch in deep and cold waters. Hatch at ~15-18 cm TL (Mecklenburg et al., 2018; Last et al., 2016; Wienerroither et al., 2011).

Conservation Status

Red List: Least concern (LC) (Norwegian Red List, 2021; IUCN red list, 2024)

Comments

General:
- MScs on A. hyperborea: López Climent (2021); Bradley (2023)
- Identification guides: The Shark Trust (2020); Mecklenburg et al. (2018); Mecklenburg et al. (2018)
- Similar species: Amblyraja radiata (Starry skate), Leucoraja fullonica (Shagreen ray) (The Shark Trust, 2020).

References

Mecklenburg, Catherine W. and Lynghammar, Arve and Johannesen, Edda and Byrkjedal, Ingvar and Christiansen, Jørgen S. and Dolgov, Andrey V. and Karamushko, Oleg V. and Mecklenburg, T. Anthony and Møller, Peter R. and Steinke, Dirk and Wienerroither, Rupert M. (2018). Marine Fishes of the Arctic Region: Volume 1. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna. Link
Last, Peter and Séret, Bernard and Stehmann, Matthias and Weigmann, Simon (2016). Skates, Family Rajidae. CSIRO Publishing. DOI
Kulka, David W. and Miri, Carolyn M. and Atchison, Sheila and Simpson, Mark R. (2024). Sibling Species Amblyraja hyperborea and A. jenseni in Slope Waters of Eastern Canada: An Ecomorphological Description. Diversity. DOI Link
Wienerroither, Rupert and Johannesen, Edda and Dolgov, Andrey and Byrkjedal, I. and Bjelland, Otte and Drevetnyak, Konstantin and Eriksen, K.B. and Høines, Åge and Langhelle, Gunnar and Langøy, Herdis and Prokhorova, T. and Prozorkevich, Dmitry and Wenneck, T. (2011). Atlas of the Barents Sea Fishes.
Brodnicke, Ole Bjørn and Meyer, Heidi Kristina and Busch, Kathrin and Xavier, Joana R. and Knudsen, Steen Wilhelm and Møller, Peter Rask and Hentschel, Ute and Sweet, Michael John (2023). Deep-sea sponge derived environmental DNA analysis reveals demersal fish biodiversity of a remote Arctic ecosystem. Environmental DNA. DOI Link
Marnor, Camilla M. and Iyer, Karthik H. and Hartz, Ebbe H. and Jæger, Maja L. and Schmid, Daniel W. (2026). Benthic communities of DeepInsight Hill, Mohn’s Ridge (Arctic Ocean). Frontiers in Marine Science. DOI Link
Marnor, Camilla M. and Souche, Alban and Hartz, Ebbe H. and Jæger, Maja L. and Schmid, Daniel W. (2025). Deep-sea sedimentary cave structures: geology or fish-made? Frontiers in Marine Science. DOI Link
Byrkjedal, I. and Christiansen, J. S. and Karamushko, O. V. and Langhelle, G. and Lynghammar, A. (2014). Arctic skate Amblyraja hyperborea preys on remarkably large glacial eelpouts Lycodes frigidus. Journal of Fish Biology. DOI Link
Meyer, H. K. and Davies, A. J. and Roberts, E. M. and Xavier, J. R. and Ribeiro, P. A. and Glenner, H. and Birkely, S. -R. and Rapp, H. T. (2023). Beyond the tip of the seamount: Distinct megabenthic communities found beyond the charismatic summit sponge ground on an arctic seamount (Schulz Bank, Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. DOI Link
The Shark Trust (2020). Arctic Skate (Amblyraja hyperborea) Identification Guide. Link
López Climent, Rebeca (2021). Distribution, reproductive ecology, and colouration of the Arctic skate Amblyraja hyperborea (Collett, 1879) in the North Atlantic Ocean. Link
Bradley, Jarius (2023). Understanding Patterns of Residency and Space Use of Arctic Skates (Amblyraja hyperborea) in Scott Inlet, Canada to Inform Indigenous Fisheries. DOI
Mecklenburg, Catherine W. and Lynghammar, Arve and Johannesen, Edda and Byrkjedal, Ingvar and Christiansen, Jørgen S. and Dolgov, Andrey V. and Karamushko, Oleg V. and Mecklenburg, T. Anthony and Møller, Peter R. and Steinke, Dirk and Wienerroither, Rupert M. (2018). Marine Fishes of the Arctic Region: Volume 2. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna. Link