THE THORNBACK SKATE. 



539 



and a large number of illustrations. Any of my readers who would 

 like to examine it in detail will find ample information in an article 

 on the subject by Dr. Coldstream, in the Cydopcedia of Anatomy and 

 Physiology, and from a valuable series of wax models in the museum 

 of the College of Surgeons. 



This fish is found in the Mediterranean and the Indian and Pacific 

 Oceans, and occasionally off the Cape, and has now and then been cap- 

 tured on our coasts. Happily, the Torpedo does not attain a very great 

 size, one of the largest specimens being about four feet long, and weigh- 

 ing sixty or seventy pounds. 



The Rays are well represented in England by several large and 

 curious species.' One of the commonest examples is the Thornback 



The Thornback Skate {Raia clavata). 



Skate, or Ray, so called from the large number of thorny projections 

 which are scattered over its back, and especially along the spine. 



The Thornback is one of our common Rays, and is taken plentifully 

 on the shores of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As is the case with 

 many of the same genus, the flesh is considered rather good, and is 

 eaten both when fresh and when salted for consumption during stormy 



