Unwind for six minutes with stunning footage of graceful deepsea skates and rays filmed by MBARI’s underwater robots. Skates and rays are fishes related to sharks. They have a distinct, flattened body, and they swim and glide using a pair of large, winglike fins. While we know a lot about the skates and rays that dwell in shallow coastal waters, we know relatively little about those that call the ocean’s inky depths their home.

We often encounter skates resting on the sediment or skimming across the seafloor. Along with their expanded pectoral fins, some skates use their pelvic fins like legs to maneuver while hunting along the bottom or to propel themselves off the seafloor when danger approaches.

Our research is filling in the gaps in scientists’ baseline knowledge of rarelyseen deepsea skate species. These data are especially important as climate change and overfishing continue to threaten biological communities. The more we learn about deepsea sharks, skates, and rays, the better we can protect them and their habitats.

Learn more about deepsea skates: https://www.mbari.org/animal/deepsea...

Producer/editor: Larissa Lemon
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun
Music: Lucid Dreaming by Dear Gravity (artlist.io)

Animals in order of appearance:
Note: The red dots in many of these clips are lasers used to help us estimate the size of animals and seafloor features. The horizontal lasers are 29 centimeters apart, and the vertical lasers are 2.5 centimeters apart unless otherwise indicated below.

0:00 Bathyraja abyssicola (Abyssal skate) | 1,388 meters (4,553 feet) | Sur Ridge
0:19 Amblyraja hyperborea (Broad skate) | 1,668 meters (5,472 feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
0:25 Bathyraja trachura (Roughtail skate) | 834 meters (2,736 feet) | Sur Ridge
0:31 Bathyraja microtrachys (Finespined skate) | 2,955 meters (9,694 feet) | Offshore Oregon
0:37 Bathyraja spinosissima (Spiny skate) | 2,199 meters (7,214 feet) | Offshore Oregon
0:50 Bathyraja trachura | 1,219 meters (3,999 feet) | Offshore Oregon
0:56 Tetronarce californica (Pacific electric ray) | 371 meters (1,217 feet) | Monterey Canyon
1:15 Bathyraja trachura | 1,023 meters (3,356 feet) | Sur Ridge
1:22 Caliraja rhina (Longnose skate) | 448 meters (1,469 feet) | Offshore Central California
1:27 Bathyraja abyssicola | 1,367 meters (4,486 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay Area
1:35 Bathyraja trachura | 835 meters (2,739 feet) | Sur Ridge
1:39 Amblyraja hyperborea | 2,320 meters (7,611 feet) | Gulf of California
1:46 Bathyraja trachura | 602 meters (1,974 feet) | Offshore Central California
1:52 Bathyraja spinosissima | 2,168 meters (7,114 feet) | Trinidad Canyon
1:59 Bathyraja trachura | 1,406 meters (4,613f feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
2:10 Bathyraja spinosissima | 1,801 meters (5,909 feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
2:29 Caliraja rhina | 374 meters (1,227 feet) | Monterey Canyon | lasers 23 cm apart
2:35 Tetronarce californica | 282 meters (925 feet) | Offshore Central California
2:54 Caliraja rhina | 595 meters (1,953 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay Area
3:01 Bathyraja abyssicola | 1,547 meters (5,076 feet) | Gulf of California
3:07 Bathyraja spinosissima | 1,696 meters (5,566 feet) | Astoria Canyon
3:14 Bathyraja trachura | 981 meters (3,217 feet) | Monterey Canyon
3:19 Bathyraja spinosissima | 1,801 meters (5,909 feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
3:38 Amblyraja hyperborea | 1,761 meters (5,778 feet) | Monterey Canyon
3:45 Bathyraja trachura | 852 meters (2,795 feet) | Offshore Central California
3:51 Bathyraja spinosissima | 2,125 meters (6,971 feet) | Vance Seamount | lasers 30 cm apart
4:16 Beringraja rhina | 352 meters (1,155 feet) | Monterey Canyon
4:22 Bathyraja trachura | 1,101 meters (3,611 feet) | Sur Ridge
4:29 Tetronarce californica | 403 meters (1,321 feet) | Monterey Canyon | lasers 23 cm apart
4:34 Bathyraja spinosissima | 2,135 meters (7,006 feet) | Cascadia Basin, offshore Washington
4:58 Amblyraja hyperborea | 1,753 meters (5,750 feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
5:06 Bathyraja spinosissima | 2,037 meters (6,682 feet) | Cascadia Basin, offshore Washington
5:19 Bathyraja trachura | 852 meters (2,795 feet) | Pioneer Seamount
5:24 Bathyraja spinosissima | 1,531 meters (5,023 feet) | Juan de Fuca Ridge
5:37 Bathyraja abyssicola | 1,234 meters (4,050 feet) | Sur Ridge
5:43 Bathyraja trachura | 1,253 meters (4,109 feet) | Sur Ridge