The common skate or blue skate (Dipturus batis) is the largest skate in the world attaining a length of more than 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Historically, it was one of the most abundant skates in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Despite its name, today it appears to be absent from much of this range. Where previously abundant, fisheries directly targeted this skate, elsewhere it is caught incidentally as by-catch. Previously assessed as Endangered globally and Critically Endangered in shelf and enclosed seas in the 2000 IUCN Red List, it has been uplisted to Critically Endangered globally in 2006.In 2009, research showed what was formerly listed as a single species, D. batis, should be instead classified as two separate species, D. flossada, and the flapper skate, D. intermedi