THE SKATE. 425 



snout and around the mouth ; eyes rather small, flattened above, 

 placed immediately in front of the temporal orifices, which are of an 

 oval form and rather smaller than the orbits. Skin above rough, pre- 

 senting a granulated feel to the touch; no spines in front of the 

 eyes or along the mesial line of the back ; that part round the base 

 of the ventrals is generally smooth. Mouth large, placed beneath, 

 capable of being widely expanded ; teeth numerous, sharp pointed, 

 with broad bases, arranged in several rows in each jaw. 



" The males in this, and in all the other species of this fa- 

 mily, besides possessing the ventral appendages, are cha- 

 racterized by several parallel rows of sharp hooked spines 

 on the anterior lobe, and at the angle of each of the pecto- 

 rals. These spines are always very much reclined and 

 partly concealed, with the points directed inwards. They 

 are quite independent of the other, generally larger and 

 more erect spines, which are more or less characteristic of 

 the particular species. The number of rows, and the num- 

 ber in each row, depend upon age, being greatest in the 

 oldest individuals ; sometimes in very young males these 

 sexual spines, as they may be termed, hardly shew themselves 

 at all. It may be added that the teeth also often differ in 

 the two sexes, the males generally having them sharper and 

 more pointed than the other sex. 1 ' — Jenyns. In some parts 

 of the coast the fishermen name those individuals with the 

 ventral appendages much developed, the Three-tailed Skate ', 

 they being, at the same time, perfectly aware that it is the 

 characteristic mark of the males only. The females are said 

 to cast their eggs from May to September, and the young 

 appear some time during the spring following. Their eggs 

 are brown, coriaceous, and squared, with the angles pro- 

 longed into points. These are often met with on the sea- 

 shores, and commonly known by the name of Sailors' 1 

 Pockets. 



This species of Skate as noticed by Pennant is sometimes 



