Maugean Skate

The Maugean skate is a medium-sized skate with a maximum total length of approximately 74 cm in males and 87 cm in females. It has a quadrangular disc-shaped body, a narrowly pointed, elongated snout and dark-edged ventral pores. The dorsal surface of the skate is almost uniformly dark grey to brown with small and faint white spots. The tail is moderately broad at the base and tapers towards large dorsal fins. Males have three rows of thorns along the tail, whereas females have five. The Maugean skate is distinguishable from other, closely related Zearaja species by its smaller adult size, longer snout and smoother dorsal surface. The only other skate species known within its distribution is the thornback skate (Dentiraja lemprieri) which can be distinguished by its smaller size, brown to grey-black dorsal surface with fine spots and reticulations, short, rounded snout and long, narrow claspers.

The Maugean skate is restricted to brackish, estuarine waters in two isolated estuaries on the west coast of Tasmania; Macquarie Harbour and Bathurst Harbour. No individuals have been found in marine waters outside of these harbours. Its preferred habitat is benthic, in shallow channels between 5 and 15 metres in depth with poor light penetration, high tannin loads in the water and silty substrate. There have been only four confirmed observations of the species in Bathurst Harbour, the last in 1992. Multiple surveys between 1992 and 2022 have failed to verify the presence of the species there, and recent eDNA samples collected in 2022 have detected minimal levels of Maugean skate DNA. This suggests it may be either locally extinct, vagrant, or occurring in very small numbers.

The Maugean skate holds a high trophic position (3.7) in the food web. Their diet consists of benthic prey species, with crustaceans as their dominant prey type.