Raja miraletus Linnaeus

Family Rajidae

REMARKS Maximum length 60 cm. The brown back, mottled with dark spots, bears two false ‘eyes’, as shown in the drawing. These, which are blue in the centre, are sometimes likened to mirrors. They have the merit of making this species quite unmistakable among the eighteen or so species of ray present in the Mediterranean. Few languages and few people attempt to distinguish between them. In Tunisia, for example, the names hassira and sajedda (both meaning rug or mat), hammema (pigeon) and raya arc all applied to the general run of rays and skates. The last two appear also in Malta as hamiema and rajja.