340 PLAGIOSTOMATA. 



ii, p. 564 (ed. 3), ii, p. 564; White, Catal. p. 138; Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 512; 

 Dumeril, Icli. i, p. 568 ; Giinther, Catal. viii, p. 465. 



Baia rostellata, Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 8, pi. i, ii. 



Baia oxyrhynchus, Tnrton, p. Ill ; Montagu, Wern. Mem. ii, p. 423 ; Flem. 

 p. 171 ; Yarrell, Brit. Fishes (ed. 1), ii, p. 424, c. fig (ed. 2), ii, p. 556 ; Johnston, 

 Berwick. N. H. F. Clnb, 1838, i, p. 176 ; Parnell, Fish. Firth of Forth, Wern. 

 Mem. vii, p. 427 ; Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 511 ; Thompson, Nat. Hist. Ireland, iv, 

 p. 259 ; Couch, Fish. Brit. Isles, i, p. 97, pi. xxi (not Linn.). 



Baia lintea, Yarrell, 1. c. (ed. 3), ii, p. 555, c. fig. (not Fries) ; Kroyer, Danm. 

 Fisk. p. iii, p. 1005, c. fig. 



Burton skate and bordered ray, Couch, 1. c. pp. 97, 110, pis. xxi, xxvi. 



Shape rhomboidal, disk about one-fifth wider than long, and the end of the 

 snout contracted into a narrow point ; tail not so long as the body. The 

 anterior edge of the disk one-half longer than the posterior, it is likewise deeply 

 undulated, so that between the snout and the angle there are two convexities, 

 while a line from the snout to the outer angle of the fin would not touch any 

 portion of it in its course. The posterior margin of the disk is nearly straight, and 

 the external angle somewhat pointed. Eyes — of moderate size, about two transverse 

 diameters apart, and five from the end of the snout. Spiracles rather smaller than 

 the orbits. Mouth rather wide. Teeth — pointed in both sexes ; from 42 to 46 

 rows in the upper, and somewhat less in the lower jaw. Under surface of the 

 snout furnished with fine spines. Skin generally smooth, occasionally a spine 

 before and another behind the eye ; but these may be absent. Three rows of 

 spines on the tail, and in the male a patch on either wing. Colours — grayish 

 superiorly, sometimes with light spots, or a pale brown ; below, pure white. 



In young specimens the disk is not so undulated along its border as in adults ; 

 while it is quite smooth above and below. The rows of spines on the tail are more 

 distinct. The colours differ from the adult, being bordered along its edges with 

 dark or even black, while the tipper surface is rosy or orange coloured. 



Pennant's figure of the skate (Edition 1776) which is also copied into Shaw's 

 Zoology, becomes his sharp-nosed ray in his second edition (1812). W. Thompson, 

 writing to Couch respecting the bordered ray, observed : " The fishermen here 

 (Weymouth) will have it to be the young of some other species, but can give no 

 reason." Couch also considered it probably to be the young condition of another ray. 



Names. — White skate (Moray Firth), May skate, Burton skate, said to have its 

 origin from the name of a French fishing village from whence fishermen came to 

 purchase them off our shores. Friar skate, Mavis skate, sharp-nosed ray. In 

 Moray Firth termed scad, pronounced skacht, Celtic (Gordon). The JDoctor, 

 Aberdeen (Sim). Morcath drwynfain, Welsh. La Baie Blanche, French. 



Habits. — Similar to those of the common skate, than which it is more 

 powerful. 



Means of capture. — Small ones are taken throughout the year, but the larger 

 ones, which keep in deep water, are only captured during summer and autumn. 

 The trawl and baited hooks are used for this purpose. 



Breeding. — Buckland remarked upon having received from Mr. Dunn, of 

 Mevagissey, two purses of this species, which measured 16 inches long and 

 6| wide. 



As food. — Much esteemed by the French, who, as long ago as the time of Ray, 

 1658, observed that French vessels used to arrive at St. Ives, in Cornwall, to 

 purchase this fish ; and which commerce has been continued up to the present time. 

 They cover this skate with moist sand, and thus, when exported, it appears as if it 

 had been freshly captured. 



Habitat. — This species extends through the seas of western Europe, extending 

 from the north to the British shores and round the coasts of France to the 

 Mediterranean. 



Not uncommon in the Orkneys and Shetland Isles (Baikie, Zool. 1853, p. 3845) : 

 Firth of Forth (Neill) : large individuals are occasionally taken at Banff, and one 

 is alluded to 7 feet long and 5 feet across (Edward) : Aberdeen (Sim). Not 

 uncommon in Berwickshire : one is mentioned 7 feet 9 inches long, by 8 feet 



