Fis/ies of the Western North Atlantic 



171 



Figure 35. Raja eglanterta, from Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Egg case, and young skate hatched from it, 

 about 0.9 X . 



have been described as brown or gray above, but all appear to have the characteristic 

 dark spots and elongate bars. 



Remarks. Attention has been called earlier to the greater prickliness of southern 

 specimens (p. 169) and to the tendency for southern specimens to mature at a smaller 

 size than the northern ones (p. 172). The series that we have studied is not sufficiently 

 extensive or the geographic coverage sufficiently complete for us to judge whether or 

 not these apparent differences indicate the existence of two separate races or subspecies 

 of eglanteria — a southern (typical) form, and a northern form for which the name 

 americana DeKay 1842 would appear to be available. 



Size. At hatching, Woods Hole specimens are 135— 144 mm long to the rear 

 end of the second dorsal fin, our smallest Florida specimens 1 30 mm. In the northern 

 part of its range some specimens of R. eglanteria may mature at a length of about 

 650 mm, but others probably not until 725 mm or longer."" Also, maturity may be 



90. In the Block Island, Rhode Island, region males were found to mature at 750—770 mm (one at 620 mm) and females 

 at 760-780 mm (from unpublished data at the Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory). 



