THE 



AMERICAN NATURALIST 



Vol. XLI Mai/, 1907 No. 485 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ZOOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF 

 THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY AT HAR\-ARD 

 COLLEGE. E. L MARK, Director. No. 189. 



THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SPIRACLE OF THE SKATE 



HERBERT W. RAND 



I\ tlie latter part of September, 1004, I spent a few days at the 

 ^^oo(^s Hole laboratory of the United Mat(\s Hureau of Fisheries 

 for the purpose of making a stiidv oi cci iaui blood vessels of the 

 skate. At that late season the Fisliencs laboraioi-v had abandoned 

 Its hsh traps and I was supplied with material tiirough kindness 

 ot officials of the IMarine Biologieal Laboratory, wliich was still 

 maintaining a trap in A ineyard Sound. One afternoon this trap 

 was hauled and some seven or eight common skates {Raja cnnacca) 

 were taken. The skates were thrown with nnnieroiis other fish 

 into the bottom of a skiff which was towrd back to the laboratory 

 by the steam launch, — a distance ot about a niilc. Arrived at the 

 laboratory, I picked out the skates and threw theni into a lar<>:e 

 shallow tank for the pmiH.M ot ua^hni. t.oni th( n. th( .and .nd 

 debris ^\hich had beconn tituhHl to ih.m ui tiaii^t In Mt ^^ 

 of the fact that the fisli had bciMi out ot the water nrarlv an hour 

 and had been .ub,Mt(d to no ^u^ ( ..(tul tu .ttn(nt it did not 

 occurtoniebnt thit th(N ^^<r. d. id o, it h im b. x ond tht po.^- 

 bilm of iCMMiii, \^^ uu .n> ot a hoM 1 tnnud upon thun a 



time, that feeble resj^iratorv motions weiv ni j)fouiv>s. .\s I 

 continued to play the water over the lish the resj)iratorv nioiions 

 became stronger. Shortlv one skate slid over the opening ot the 



