Selachians Extraordinary 



257 



California Skate 

 (Raja inornata) 

 One of the most abundant skates on the western coast of the United 

 States, the California skate is found from the Straits of San Juan de Fuca 

 (Washington) south to Cedros Island in Lower California. Small prickles 

 line its mid-back, the larger ones on the snout and between the eyes, 

 and it has three to five rows of prickles on the back of its tail. It grows 

 to 2^2 feet in length. It is pale above, and duskily mottled below. 



Little Skate 



{Raja erinacea Mitchell, 1825) 



(Also Known as Hedgehog Skate, Common Skate, Tobacco Box Skate) 



After a storm along the Atlantic coast, this small prolific skate is 

 often found washed up on the beach. Not only is it familiar to Atlantic 

 fishermen, it is also well known to zoological students, for the Little skate 

 is one of the most popular subjects for the dissection table in zoology 



A Little skate {Raja erinacea): (A) male; (B) female. 



Courtesy, The Sears Foundation for Marine Research from 

 Fishes of the Western North Atlantic by Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Schroeder, 1953 



