130 SKATES AND RAYS 



50° N. ; off Vianna in Portugal on the 22nd April on a hard 

 bottom at 30 to 40 fathoms ; and at 150 fathoms on the slope 

 to the south-west of Cape Bojador. In these Moroccan waters 

 Hjort also obtained (in May) White Skate (the largest species 

 caught by our fishermen, which runs to 500 lb.), Spotted Ray, 

 Painted Ray, Cuckoo Ray {Baia circularis), and others. And 

 the ' Cuckoo ' also turned up with the Thornback in the hauls 

 on the ' south-west banks ', and off Portugal — always in the 

 neighbourhood of the slope. 



These species then seem to be ' southern ' fishes which 

 wander from the Moroccan banks into the North Sea and 

 northern Atlantic. And there are distinct indications that they, 

 like hake and herrings, regulate the depth at which they swim 

 so as to find the temperatures which suit them. For they 

 inhabit lower levels off Morocco than when they visit northern 

 waters. The ' Great Grey ', ' Blue ', or ' Common ' Skate 

 {Raia hatis), and the ' Flappers ' {B. macrorynchus) are perhaps 

 more plentiful in northern waters. The latter is a ' very 

 common fish in the Irish Sea and the Minch as well as on the 

 southern and western coasts of Ireland ' (Minchin). The 

 Michael Sars caught ' Common Skate ' on the Faeroe Bank 

 and in the Faeroe-Shetland Channel. But both species are 

 also fairly common in the Mediterranean, where the ' thorn- 

 backs ' are rare. The Starry Ray is more common, especially 

 in deep water, than the latter in the North Sea. It is a northern 

 species, and another northern form, the ' Long-nosed Skate ', 

 is found only in the extreme north of the North Sea, and in the 

 Norwegian Sea, always in deep water. The Shagreen Ray has 

 been caught by Hjort on the Faeroe Bank, and also off Morocco 

 at nearly 300 fathoms. It appears, generally with the northern 

 Starry Ray, in the North Sea in spring and summer. 



Minchin tells us that the largest skate caught inshore ' are 

 generally females, and that their teeth are flattened and set 

 close together so as to form a sort of pavement, which enables 

 the skate to crunch up the large shell-fish on which they feed. 

 In the males, on the other hand, the teeth are sharp-pointed 

 and separated.' 



The Spawning Period 



According to Johnstone, the rays spawn from May to July ; 

 whether in southern waters the spawning starts earlier is not 

 clearly stated, though it is almost certain. In one respect the 

 family differs from all other commercial food fishes, with the 

 exception of dogfishes. Each female produces about twenty 

 eggs only at a time, but G. Sim states that the ' Starry Ray ' 



