130 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 
median series, are 2 rather regular series of small thorns, sim- 
ilar. On each side of tail above they resolve into several irreg- 
ular longitudinal series of thorns, becoming much larger posteri- 
orly. Towards tip of tail they gradually become obsolete. 
Upper submarginal surface of ventral roughened. Entire lower 
surface of body smooth. No claspers. Dorsals.2, at end of tail 
and of about equal size. Pectoral with anterior edge convex, then 
concave and finally convex, and entire posterior margin broadly 
convex. Ventral elongate, anteriorly with a short lobe and 
posteriorly rather pointed. Vent large and well behind origins 
of ventral fins. Color in alcohol more or less uniform brownish 
above. Below dull whitish. Length 32 inches. This example, 
an adult female, with ripe ovary, was taken in a pound at Green 
Creek, in Cape May county, May 5th, 1907. H. Walker Hand 
and H. W. Fowler. 
Color of the above in life above dull muddy-brown, back and 
entire upper surface of disk all more or less of uniform tint and 
finely marked with dusky spots. These spots, nearly blackish, 
indistinctly defined and none so large as eye, many about size of 
pupil, or even smaller. Spots on tail becoming inconspicuous 
distally, or when extending about basal % of its length, outer 34 
unicolor. Dorsal fins brownish, like back. As viewed above 
edge along tail distally is grayish-white. Iris with upper half 
muddy-brown, nearly as deep in tint as back, and lower ‘half 
dirty or soiled-white. Around pupil a very narrow circle of 
golden. Curtain over pupil fringed brownish, like back. Lower 
surface of body milky-white. On each side of snout and along 
edges of pectoral translucent grayish spots. 
It is the most abundant skate along the bay shore, and is taken 
in all the pounds we visited at Green Creek and nearly to Fishing 
Creek. Most all we saw were adults and seemed to display but 
little variation, except in the sexes, the males, as a rule, being 
less spiny or thorny than the females. All measure about 3 feet 
in length, and in this respect the sexes do not vary. The claspers 
of the male are long, like those of the preceding species. These 
skates are taken in the pounds and then hauled up on shore to 
be used as fertilizers. Most we saw were thrown up on the 
shore close by the king crab pens. Some farmers take them 
