Shagreen Shagreen Shagreen is a type of rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, historically from a horse's or onager's back, or from shark or ray. In modern times, shagreen is produced from the skins of commercially-farmed Asian sting rays. The word derives from the French "chagrin" and is related to Italian "zigrino" and Venetian "sagrin", derived from the Turkic "sağrı" / "çağrı" 'rump of a horse' or the prepared skin of this part. The roughness of its texture led to the French meaning of anxiety, vexation, embarrassment, or annoyance. Shagreen has an unusually rough and granular surface, and is sometimes used
Shagreen ray m. It is most common at depths of 200 m, but is found deeper in southern areas. It favors sandy and possibly also rocky habitats. The shagreen ray feeds on a variety of benthic animals, mainly fishes but also crustaceans. Like other skates reproduction is oviparous; the egg capsules are amber in color and oblong-shaped, with long, stiff horns at each corner. One pair of horns are longer than the capsule. The capsules measure 7.5-9.9 cm long and 4.5-4.7 cm wide. Historically this ray was considered of "inferior" quality for consumption. It is caught commercially by longlines and trawls. Shagreen