Es caracteritzen per tindre els forats nasals, la boca i els cinc parells d'obertures branquials tots situats en posició ventral.
A les famílies més típiques el cos està fortament aplanat en sentit dorsiventral, i dividit en dues parts ben diferenciades: el disc -de contorn arrodonit, el·lipsoïdal o romboïdal- format per les aletes pectorals, molt eixamplades i soldades lateralment a tota la llargada del conjunt del cap i el tronc, i la cua, molt més estreta, formada per la resta del cos.
La cua, quan està fortament diferenciada, no té cap paper en la locomoció: aquesta és efectuada per moviments ondulatoris de les aletes pectorals que donen per resultat una mena de vol semblant al de les aus, però fet a un ritme lent i molt elegant.
Aleta anal absent.
Els ulls i els espiracles es troben en la superfície dorsal.
↑ 4,04,1«Rajiformes (Order)» (en anglès). ZipcodeZoo.com. Arxivat de l'original el 7 de novembre 2014. [Consulta: 25 d’abril 2009].
Bibliografia
Bigelow, H.B. & Schroeder, W.C. 1953. Sawfishes, guitarfishes, skates and rays. pp. 1–514, figs 1–117 a Parr, A.E. (ed.). Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Memoir. Sears Foundation of Marine Research 1(2): 1–599.
Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlín, 584 pp. 110 pls.
Capapé C. (1989): Les Sélaciens des côtes méditerranèennes: aspects geénéraux de leur écologie et exemples de peuplements. Océanis, 15 (3): 213-345.
Castelnau, F.L. de 1873. Contribution to the ichthyology of Australia. 8. Fishes of Western Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria 2: 123–149.
Coleman, N. 1980. Australian Sea Fishes South of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 309 pp.
Compagno, L.J.V. 1973. Interrelationships of living elasmobranchs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 53(suppl. 1): 15–61 pls 1–2.
Compagno, L.J.V. 1999. Checklist of living elasmobranchs. A Hamlett, W.C. (ed.). Sharks, Skates, and Rays: the Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes. Baltimore i Londres: Johns Hopkins University Press, 515 pp.
Daley, R.K., Stevens, J.D., Last, P.R. & Yearsley, G.K. 2002. Field Guide to Australian Sharks & Rays. Hobart : CSIRO Marine Research 84 pp.
Garrick, J.A.F. & Paul, L.J. 1974. The taxonomy of New Zealand skates (suborder Rajoidea), with descriptions of three new species. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 4(3): 345–377 figs 1–10.
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta: Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp. figs.
Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds) 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide: State Print 992 pp. 810 figs.
Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane: Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General's Department, 640 pp.
Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd, 880 pp.
Günther, A. 1880. Report on the shore fishes procured during the voyage of H.M.S Challenger, in the years 1872-1876. Challenger Reports. Zoology 1(6): 1–82 pls 1–32.
Hutchins, J.B. & Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Perth: Western Australian Museum 103 pp., 345 figs.
Ishiyama, R. 1967. Fauna Japonica. Rajidae (Pisces). Tòquio (Japó): Academic Press of Japan 162 pp., 23 figs., 32 pls.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst: Crawford House Press, 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. Sydney: New Holland 433 pp., figs.
Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. & Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Hobart: Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority, 563 pp. figs.
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra: CSIRO Australia 513 pp., 84 pls figs.
Last, P.R. 1994. Families Torpedinidae, Rajiidae, Rhinobatidae. pp. 154–172 figs 132-149 a Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide: State Print 992 pp., 810 figs.
Last, P.R. & Compagno, L.J.V. 1999. Families Rajidae, Arhynchobatidae, Anacanthobatidae. pp. 1452–1466 a Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Roma, Itàlia: FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397–2068.
Linck, H.F. 1790. Versuch einer Einteilung der Fische nach den Zähnen. Magazin für das Neueste aus Physik und Naturgeschichte 6(3): 28–38.
Malm, A.W. 1877. Göteborgs och Bohusläns fauna, Ryggradsdjuren. Göteborg. 1-674 pp.
May, J.L. & Maxwell, J.G.H. 1986. Field Guide to Trawl Fish from Temperate Waters of Australia. Hobart: CSIRO Division of Marine Research, 492 pp.
McCulloch, A.R. 1911. Report on the fishes obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour on the coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Part 1. Zoological (Biological) Results. Endeavour 1(1): 1–87 figs 1–20 pls 1–16.
McCulloch, A.R. 1930. A check-list of the fishes recorded from Australia. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 5(1–4): 1–534.
McEachran, J.D. & Dunn, K.A. 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of skates, a morphologically conservative clade of elasmobranchs (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae). Copeia 1998(2): 271-290.
Moyle, P. i J. Cech.: Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, 4a edició, Upper Saddle River, Nova Jersey, Estats Units: Prentice-Hall (2000).
Nishida, K. 1990. Phylogeny of the suborder Myliobatidoidei. Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University 37(1-2): 1-108.
Ogilby, J.D. 1888. Catalogue of the fishes in the collection of the Australian Museum. Part 1. Recent Palaeichthyan fishes. Australian Museum Catalogue 14: 1–26.
Rafinesque, C.S. 1810. Caratteri di alcuni Nouvi Generi e Nouve Specie di Animali e Piante della Sicilia con varie Osservazioni sopra i Medesimi. Palermo 105 pp. 20 pls.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra: Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.
Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. 1794. The Naturalist's Miscellany, or coloured figures of natural objects; drawn and described from nature. Londres. Vol. 5 pls 162–182.
Shirai, S. 1996. Phylogenetic interrelationships of Neoselachians (Chondrichthyes: Euselachii). p. 9-34. A M. Stiassny, L. Parenti i G. Johnson (editors) Interrelationships of fishes. Academic Press, Nova York, Estats Units. 496 p.
Whitley, G.P. 1932. Studies in Ichthyology Núm. 6. Record of the Australian Museum 18(6): 321–348 figs 1–3 pls 36–39.
Whitley, G.P. 1939. Taxonomic notes on sharks and rays. Australian Zoologist 9(3): 227–262 figs 1–18 pls 20–22.
Whitley, G.P. 1940. The Fishes of Australia. Part 1. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney: Roy. Zool. Soc. N.S.W. 280 pp. 303 figs.
Whitley, G.P. 1964. A survey of Australian Ichthyology. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 89(1): 11–127.
Yearsley, G.K., Last, P.R. & Ward, R.D. (eds) 1999. Australian Seafood Handbook. Hobart: CSIRO Marine Research 460 pp.