Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 145 



Beach, New Jersey." On the other hand, they are so much less abundant on soft bot- 

 tom that on one occasion in the Gulf of Maine we took only one Skate for every 250— 

 300 fish of other kinds." Unfortunately, there are no statistics available as to the num- 

 bers of Skates taken along our Middle Atlantic Coast southward from New Jersey or 

 in their southern center of occurrence off southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. 



Relation to Man. In northern Europe during 1936 and 1937 the average market 

 price to the fisherman was about 4-5 cents per pound, the total value of Skates sold 

 being about ;^ 1,050,000 and ;^ 92 6,000 or $5,100,000 and $4,500,000, respectively. 

 But in North American markets the demand for Skates is very small; according to the 

 reported total landings for 1944, only about 501,000 pounds, worth about % 18,000, 

 were sold along the Atlantic Coast of the United States (including Chesapeake Bay), 

 about 310,000 pounds, worth about $3,000,*" along the Pacific Coast. Small numbers 

 have been used from time to time as fertilizer, as fresh manure, and as bait for lobster 

 traps along the New England Coast. But the vast majority of those caught along the 

 Atlantic coasts of Canada and the United States are thrown back. 



Depth Range. Skates are most abundant in depths less than 100 fathoms, many 

 of them occurring plentifully in shallow water, a few right up to the tideline. Stray 

 Skates have even been taken in rivers so far in from the mouth that they had doubtless 

 been in fresh water for a longer or shorter time.^" But there is no conclusive evidence 

 that any member of the genus exists permanently in fresh water. On the other hand, 

 several of the species that are common in 30-60 fathoms also range down the slopes 

 to depths of 200—300 fathoms or deeper. There is a considerable list of species that 

 are known only from depths greater than 100 fathoms, some of these being from depths 

 greater than 200 fathoms while others have been recorded from depths greater than 

 800-1,500 fathoms. 51 However, we doubt whether any Skate can be classed as a typical 

 member of the abyssal fauna, although two {R. abyssicola Gilbert 1893, from the offing 

 of British Columbia, and R. badia Garman 1899, from the Gulf of Panama) have been 

 reported from depths greater than 1,200 fathoms, knowledge of each being confined 



47. On July 8, 1892 (Smith, Bull. U.S. Fish Comm., 12, 1894: 368). 



48. For details of catches totaling about 11,900 fish of all species, see Bigelow and Schroeder (Biol. Bull. Woods Hole, 

 76. 1939: 3^2)- 



49. Statist. Dig. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., 16, Fish. Statist. U.S. (1944), 1948. 



50. A large Skate was taken many years ago in the River Ouse near Bedford, England, some 60-70 miles from the 

 sea (Pascoe, Zoologist, [3] 7, 1883: 506). More recently one has been reported from the Yangtze in China (Tchang, 

 Science Shanghai, 14, 1929: 39S-407). A Skate has been reported also from fresh water of the Rio de la Plata 

 (Eigenmann, Rep. Princeton Exped. Patagonia, Zool., 3 [2], 1909: 377; Smith, H. W., Biol. Rev. [Cambridge], 

 II, 1936: 11). But the specimen in question [Raja platana Gunther, Challenger Rep., Zool., i, i88o: 12, Chal- 

 lenger Sta. 321) was actually taken off Montevideo; i. e., in salt water where the dredge also yielded a rich catch 

 of various marine invertebrates. We might point out in passing that Eigenmann's reference of Raja microps Giin- 

 ther iSSo (actually referable to the closely related genus Psammobatis) to fresh water rests on the capture of a 

 specimen at that same station. 



51. Raja badia Garman 1899, from 1,270 fathoms. Pacific off Panama; R. abyssicola Gilbert 1893, 1,588 fathoms, off 

 British Columbia; R.fyllae Lutken 1887, down to 983 fathoms, northeastern Atlantic; R. hyperborea Collett 1878, 

 down to 1,309 fathoms, N. Atlantic; R. re-Tiersa Lloyd 1906, 820 fathoms, northern part of Arabian Sea; R. trachura 

 Gilbert 1892, S22 fathoms, off southern California; R.j^nst'ni Bigelov/ and Schroeder 1949, 991 and 1,043 fathoms, 

 off southern New England; R. bat/typhila Holt and Byrne 1908, 835-1,188 fathoms, continental slope between 

 offings of Chesapeake Bay and Nova Scotia; and R. mollis Bigelow and Schroeder 1949, 85S fathoms, off southern 

 Nova Scotia. 



