68 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Figure 29. — Little skate (Raja erinacea). A, male, 20 inches long, Boston Harbor; B, female, 17% inches long, Mystic 

 Connecticut; C, side view, end of tail of same, about 0.6 times natural size. From Bigelow and Schroeder. Drawings 

 by E. N. Fischer. 



end of the tail, and this is true of newly hatched 

 specimens in general. Males are less spiny, but 

 the spines on tail, shoulders, and along either 

 side of the back ridge are noticeably strong in 

 both sexes. The two dorsal fins are close together; 

 the tail is about half the total length. Large 

 ones closely resemble small specimens of the big 

 skate (R. ocellata, p. 63) that may chance to 

 lack the ocellar spots with which that species 

 usually is marked. A count of the teeth is then 

 the only sure clue to the identity of the specimen 

 in hand. 



Color. — Grayish to dark brown above, or 

 clouded light and dark brown, paler at the edges 

 of the pectoral fins; usually with many small round 

 darker spots; white or grayish below. 



Size. — Ordinarily up to 16 to 20 inches long; 



the maximum recorded length is 21 inches (53 

 cm.); they weigh about % to 1 pound at 16 to 17 

 inches and anywhere from 1% to 2 pounds at 18 

 inches. Females mature sexually when 12%-17 

 inches (32-43 cm.) long, males at about 14 to 

 17K inches. 68 



Habits. — It is common knowledge that this 

 skate, like others, is most abundant on sandy 

 or pebbly bottom; but they are likewise found 

 on mud and we have seen them lying on ledges 

 at times. 



The usual depth range is from close to tide line 

 down to 75 fathoms or so. Many even follow 

 up the shelving bottoms of our beaches until they 



88 Information supplied by Dr. Daniel Merrimau, Dr. Y. H. Olsen, the 

 Misses S. B. Wheatland and L. H. Calhoun, who have made a detailed 

 study of the littlo skate in southern New England waters. 



