FISHES OF NEW YORK 49 



cies are known as skate. It has no commercial value in Great 

 South bay. In the traps at Islip skates reappear on October 

 first on their fall migration. A female was caught near the 

 inlet at Fire Island, Sep. 29, 1898. The species was more abun- 

 dant later in the fall. 



At Woods Hole, according to Dr Smith, this is the big skate or 

 winter skate. It is common from February to June and from 

 October 15 to the end of the trap fishing; it Is absent or very 

 rare in summer. 



25 Raja eglanteria Bosc 



Clear-nosed Skate; Brier Ray 



Raja eglanteria Bosc in LACEPEDE, Hist Nat. Poiss. II, 104, 109, 1800; GUN- 

 THER, Cat. Fish. Brit Mus. VIII, 462, 1870; JORDAN & EVERMAXN, Bull. 

 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 71. 1806; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 89, 1898. 



Raia eglanteria JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16. IT. S. Nat. Mus. 41, 1883. 



Raja (UapJiancs MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. 478, 1815. 



Differs from R. erinacea and R. o c e 1 1 a t a in its 

 acutely produced snout, smaller spines and translucent space on 

 each side of the rostrum. The length of the disk (12 inches) 

 equals four fifths of its width (15 inches). Spines small and very 

 sharp, most numerous on the front part of the pectoral, the 

 head, the snout, the middle of the back, and the tail between 

 the rows of enlarged spines; enlarged spines around the eyes 

 and spiracles, on the middle of the snout, in a median row along 

 the back, and in two row r s along each side of the tail. The 

 spines on the tail are very sharp, large and- small ones alternat- 

 ing in the rows; a large spine in the middle of each shoulder; 

 a spine between the dorsal fins; tail as long as the disk, and 

 with a median and two lateral rows of moderately large spines 

 and one or more intermediate rows of much smaller ones; caudal 

 tin absent or very small; dorsals small, the anterior larger, one 

 ninth the length of tail in hight; mouth moderate; teeth in about 

 50 rows in upper jaw and 48 in the lower. 



Color pale brown, with numerous bands, bars, lines and 

 blotches of darker; darker spots in the middle of the pectoral; 

 each side of the snout with a pale, translucent area. 



