Undulate Ray

A bottom-dwelling elasmobranch of sandy and muddy coastal shelves, it favours relatively shallow inshore waters and estuarine margins along the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, where it rests partially buried or glides low over the seabed in search of benthic invertebrates and small fish. Divers and snorkellers should scan sandy patches and seagrass edges carefully, watching for the distinctive undulating white-spotted and banded dorsal patterning that breaks up its outline against the substrate, along with the characteristic sinuous wingbeat motion when disturbed into movement. Summer months offer the best opportunities in shallower coastal zones when water visibility tends to improve, with early morning dives in calm, clear conditions maximising the chance of spotting a resting individual before it flushes from the bottom.