Selachians Extraordinary 255 



Skates swim by undulating their pectoral fins in a graceful move- 

 ment that more resembles flying than swimming. But the skate is usually 

 a ground fish which often lies half-buried in the sand or mud. Since its 

 mouth is on the bottom of its body, the skate appears not to be able to 

 catch moving prey by dashing forward; it swims over its victim, then 

 suddenly drops down upon it and devours it. The skate's usual diet 

 includes crabs, shrimps, lobsters, clams, and smaller shellfish. 



Skates are found in the warm, temperate, and boreal latitudes which 

 gird the earth. They are particularly abundant from southern New Eng- 

 land to New Jersey. On one memorable summer's day at Bradley Beach, 

 New Jersey, 10,000 pounds of skates were pulled from the sea in one 

 mighty lift of a large net. 



They are also abundant in California waters. Phil M. Roedel and 

 William Ellis Ripley of California's Bureau of Marine Fisheries reported 

 in 1950 that great numbers were being taken in trawl nets, but fishermen 

 threw them back. "The skates, like weeds, are very hardy and apparently 

 thrive when returned to the water unharmed," Roedel and Ripley re- 

 ported. "It is not uncommon, in areas worked for many years, to make 

 trawl catches containing almost nothing else." 



Anglers who reel in skates are frequently surprised— and disap- 

 pointed—at what they have caught. For the skate has the habit of de- 

 pressing the outer edge of its body when hooked, thus forming a kind 

 of vacuum cup on the bottom. The angler has to use so much effort to 

 dislodge the stubborn skate that he thinks he has a heavier fish than the 

 lightweight he finally lands. 



Although there is no evidence that any skates live permanently in 

 fresh water, strays have been caught in river water far enough from the 

 sea to be called fresh. A large skate was reported in 1883 to have been 

 caught in the River Ouse near Bedford, England, some 60 to 70 miles 

 from the sea. A report in 1929 said that one had been taken from the 

 Yangtze River in China. 



Skates, generally found in shallow water and in depths of less than 

 100 fathoms, also dwell in the great depths. At least seven species have 

 been recorded in areas of the sea known as the deep-abyssal— below a 

 depth of about 2,000 meters, or 6,560 feet. 



About a hundred species of skates are included in the biggest genus 

 (Raja) of the family Rajidae, making it the Selachian genus with by far 

 the most species. Another 20-odd species are assigned to eight other 

 genera, although some ichthyologists place one curious group in a sepa- 

 rate family, the Anacanthobatidae. These odd-looking skates have snouts 

 that flare into the shape of a spired mosque. Their pelvic appendages are 

 leg-like. 



One species of this skate (Sprijjgeria folirostris Bigelow and Schroe- 



