| Genus | Species | Common name | Described |
| Dentiraja | flindersi | Pygmy thornback skate | 2008, Last & Gledhill |
| Dentiraja | lemprieri | Thornback skate | 1845, Richardson |
| Dipturus | cerva | Whitespotted skate | 1939, Whitley |
| Dipturus | gudgeri | Bight skate | 1940, Whitley |
| Spiniraja | whitleyi | Melbourne skate | 1938, Iredale |
Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc.
Understanding, enjoying and caring for our oceans
Hi. I have been finding hardnose skate egg casings along the beaches Goolwa to Bashams and then uploading photos and data to iNaturalist. I would like to learn how to tell the difference between Hardnose and Thornback skate eggs to better identify what I find. I would also like to find more general background information on what types of skates live in these areas. After the area being hit so hard with the Toxic Algal Bloom of 2025, I am hopeful the egg casings I am finding which are in good condition might suggest the species is doing OK. One in particular was very small and iNat labelled it “unknown”. So far I have found over 40 skate eggs in the month of March, 2026.
Hi Jenni, were you at Garden Island on Sunday?
I didn’t even know just what a hardnose skate was/is.
My first reference re skate eggcases is the old Marine & Freshwater Fishes of South Australia book (p.21 in the Second Edition from 1974).
I used this as the basis for my 1993 Journal article titled The Breeding of sharks, stingrays and skates. There was nothing to distinguish between skates at all.
It only listed 3 known species (from SA?) – Melbourne, Thornback & Round skates.
I see that there is a photo of what is said to be the egg case of a hardnose skate on iNat at https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48408-Rajidae .
I note that the scientific name for the Thornback changed from Raja lemprieri to Dentiraja lemprieri.
I would have to do my own research to find out any more than that.
I will put a request out on our FB page if that is OK by you.
Cheers, Steve