Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 



20I 



Figure 41. Raja garmani. Left, Male, 398 rnm long, from off North Carolina, Lat. 36°46' N, Long. 74°4i' W, 

 57-97 fathoms (Harv. Mus. Comp. Zool., No. 34762). Right, Female, 401 mm long, from off Montauk Point, 

 Long Island, New York (Harv. Mus. Comp. ZooL, No. 36315). 



and Palm Beach, Florida, in U. S. National Museum and Harvard Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology (including type). 



Distinctive Characters. The conspicuous dark rosettes on the upper surface provide 

 the readiest field mark for specimens of this species from shortly after hatching, since 

 no other Skate of the western Atlantic is marked in this way. Among Skates of the eastern 

 Atlantic, R. garmani falls nearest to R. naevus Muller and Henle 1841 in shape of disc, 

 length of tail, and general distribution of thorns; but it differs from R. naevus in 

 that its back is thornier (especially when adult), the skin of the disc is naked apart 

 from the thorns (largely prickly in R. naevus), and the color pattern is different. It has 

 no close counterpart among Skates of the Pacific Coast of America. 



Description. Proportional dimensions in per cent of total length. Male, 398 mm 



