Maugean Skate
Described as Australia’s ‘dinosaur in a bathtub’, the Maugean skate has ancient lineage and is found only in a small enclosed pocket of water.
The Maugean skate is a ray found only in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, and has been alive since T-Rex roamed the Earth.
Rarely seen, their dappled exterior camouflages them against the dark, silty bottom of Macquarie Harbour where they prefer depths of 5 to 15 metres and feed on bottom-dwelling native crabs.
Maugean skates are flat-bodied and cartilaginous, similar to a stingray. They typically reach lengths of around 75 cm from the tip of their pointy snout to the end of their tails.
These living dinosaurs are facing imminent extinction because of depleting oxygen in the harbour effectively choking the skate to death.
Threats
Maugean skates are facing imminent extinction with only an estimated 4,100 remaining in the wild.
The main threat to the species is depleted oxygen chewed up by fish feed and fish waste produced by intensive salmon farming.
Other threats include:
- Damming and manipulated river flows into the harbour prioritising hydroelectricity production.
- Climate change and extreme weather events.
- Accidental capture in local fisheries.
- Historic mining pollution.
Emergency conservation action is needed.
Did You Know?
Skates are the only species of ray that lay eggs.
Facts & Figures
COMMON NAME: Maugean Skate
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Zearaja maugeana
FAMILY: Rajidae, Rajiformes, Chondrichthyes, Chordata, Animalia
BODY SIZE: Medium-sized skate 85-86 cm
LIFESPAN (IN WILD): Approximately 10 years
DIET: Crabs, carid shrimp and mysids
LOCATION: Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania
CONSERVATION STATUS: Endangered (EPBC status)
POPULATION TREND: Declining
Why is the skate choking to death?
Maugean skates are facing imminent extinction because oxygen levels collapsed in the skate’s only home and still remain at critical levels.
Macquarie Harbour’s water quality has crashed primarily from the oxygen depleting effects of intensive salmon farming, compounded by the effects of hydroelectricity production.
Intensive aquaculture causes microbes to consume what little oxygen there iswhen they break down fish feed and waste. This can potentially create ‘dead zones’ in the harbour.
Dams that allow constant river flow into the harbor to generate electricity limits oxygen-rich seawater entering and ‘recharging’ the harbour.