174 Memoir Sears Foundation for Marine Research 



may actually be in water of considerably lower temperature due to inshore movements 

 of cooler bottom water. i"' 



In the southern part of its range (North Carolina to Florida) "^ ^. eglanteria may 

 inhabit somewhat higher temperatures than those in the north, but definite conclusions 

 in this regard would be premature. 



The highest salinity in which R. eglanteria has been taken is about 34 "/oo, while 

 those that enter Chesapeake Bay meet with salinities as low as 27—31 °/oo near the 

 entrance and lower still if they venture up the Bay, as some do.i"^ However, there is 

 no evidence that R. eglanteria ever runs up into fresh water. 



Numerical Abundance. R. eglanteria has been characterized repeatedly as "abundant" 

 or as the "most numerous Skate" at various coastwise points between New Jersey 

 and Virginia. There is an early report of not less than 10,000 pounds of them (weighing 

 1—5 pounds each) being discarded from one pound net on the New Jersey Coast on 

 a single July day,ii" but this represented an exceptional concentration, even allowing 

 for exaggeration. Ten specimens is the largest catch that has been reported from any 

 one trawl haul on the wintering grounds offshore. 



Relation to Man. Most of those caught by commercial fishermen and by anglers 

 are discarded; however, a small percentage of the catch is utilized as food. 



Range, Western North Atlantic from Massachusetts Bay to Florida, mostly in 

 shoal water from close in to the coast out to about 65 fathoms. 



Details of Occurrence. This Skate occurs regularly and plentifully at one season 

 or another along the whole coastline of the United States from the northern part of 

 Florida on both coasts to Long Island, New York."^ To the northward and eastward, 

 a few are taken yearly off southern New England and in the vicinity of Woods Hole; 

 we caught two specimens in 10—15 fathoms on a hand line on Nantucket Shoals 

 in July and September 1926."^ Also, there are odd records for it from Province- 

 town at the tip of Cape Cod and from Gloucester at the northern boundary of Massa- 

 chusetts Bay. To the southward, it has long been known on the South Carolina Coast 

 — in fact, Charleston is the type locality; it has been taken off Brunswick, Georgia; 

 many are caught off northern Florida;"* and we have specimens from New Smyrna 

 Beach farther to the southward. It has been recorded from the west coast of Florida 

 but not from the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, but perhaps it is to be expected 

 there. It is not known from any localities farther south than middle Florida. 



107. Information is scant. On August lo, 1916 the surface close to Cape May was about 21.9 ° C (71° F), but the bottom 

 at about 50 feet was only about 15.8° C (60° F). 



108. Near Charleston, South Carolina the surface chills to about 10-11° C (50—52° F) in winter, warms to about 21.1° C 

 (70° F) by mid-May, and is warmer than 24° C (75° F) from about mid-June to the end of September. Off the 

 mouth of the St. Johns River, Florida the summer maximum is about the same and the winter minimum only 

 a little higher; i. e., about 12.2-13.0° C (54-55° F) (Parr, Bull. Bingham oceanogr. Coll., 4 [3], 1933 : 68, fig. 22). 



109. Newcombe and Lang, Proc. Amer. phil. Soc, 81, 1939: 399. 

 no. Smith, Bull. U.S. Fish Comm., 12, 1894: 368. 



111. Recorded repeatedly in scientific literature from many localities in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, 

 Virginia, lower Chesapeake Bay, and North Carolina. 



112. Bigelow and Schroeder, Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish., 48, 1936: 325. 



113. Personal communication from Stewart Springer. 



