Raja undulata illustration by Augusto Nobre

This illustration shows the undulate ray (Raja undulata, Lacepède, 1802). This ray can be found in the eastern Atlantic, including the western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, in areas with sandy substrates and coastal areas near estuaries. Its diet consists of fish, molluscs and worms. In this illustration by Augusto Nobre, we can see its interesting arrow shape with a well-developed caudal peduncle. The colour and pattern are extremely important for this animal's camouflage, which varies between brown, yellow or light grey with darker wavy bands. It also has scattered white dots, the same colour as the underside, topped off by greyish margins. The average length varies between 70 and 85 cm and can reach up to one metre.
In this illustration, made using only a nib pen and Indian ink, the author used stippling techniques and emphasised the species' characteristic white dots, representing them only with small circles.