Skates
Barndoor Skate, Dipturus laevis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichthyes Subclass: Elasmobranchii Superorder: Batoidea Order: Rajiformes Family: Rajidae

Broad skate, Amblyraja badia

A skate egg case, known as a mermaid's purse.

Skate wings.

Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. They are carnivorous, feeding mostly on smaller fish and crustaceans. They have flat pectoral fins continuous with their head, two dorsal fins and a short, spineless tail. There are more than 200 described species in 25 genera. Look up skate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Barndoor. ... Binomial name Dipturus laevis Mitchill, 1818 The barndoor skate, Dipturus laevis, is a species of marine cartilaginous fish in the skate family (family Rajidae) of the order Rajiformes. ... Scientific classification redirects here. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses and Orders See text. ... Superorders Batoidea (rays and skates) Selachimorpha (sharks) Elasmobranchii is the subclass of cartilaginous fish that includes skates, rays (batoidea) and sharks (selachii). ... Orders Rajiformes - common rays and skates Pristiformes - sawfishes Torpediniformes - electric rays See text for families. ... Families Anacanthobatidae Dasyatidae Gymnuridae Hexatrygonidae Myliobatidae Plesiobatidae Potamotrygonidae Rajidae Rhinobatidae Urolophidae Rajiformes is the order of true rays and skates, flat-bodied cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 594 pixelsFull resolution (824 × 612 pixel, file size: 154 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 594 pixelsFull resolution (824 × 612 pixel, file size: 154 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 475 KB)Skate egg case File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 475 KB)Skate egg case File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Port Jackson sharks egg case. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Subclasses and Orders See text. ... Orders Rajiformes - common rays and skates Pristiformes - sawfishes Torpediniformes - electric rays See text for families. ... For the Dutch band, see Crustacean (band). ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ... Dorsal fin of an orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the (extinct) ichthyosaurs. ... A scorpion tail The tail is the section at the rear end of an animals body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. ...

Skates are bottom-dwelling and are found throughout the world from continental shelves down to the abyssal zone. They are oviparous fishes, laying eggs in a case known as a mermaid's purse. It is thought that egg-laying in skates is an evolutionary reversal, that is, skates are descended from ovoviviparous ancestors.^[1]  Sediment  Rock  Mantle  The global continental shelf, highlighted in cyan The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs. ... Layers of the pelagic zone The abyssal zone is the pelagic zone that contains the very deep benthic communities near the bottom of oceans. ... A Port Jackson sharks egg case. ... Ovoviviparous animals develop within eggs that remain within the mothers body up until they hatch or are about to hatch. ...

The common skate, Dipturus batis, is the largest found in British waters. It has a long, pointed snout. However, the most common skate in British seas is the thornback ray, Raja clavata. They are frequently caught by trawling. Common skate and white skate are assessed as Critically Endangered by IUCN (World Conservation Union) and the fish is listed by the Marine Conservation Society as a "fish to avoid".^[2] Binomial name (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880) The banjo shark, california thornback, guitarfish, round skate, shovelnose, thornback ray, or thornback (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) is a species of fish in the Platyrhinidae family. ... Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively pulling a large fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. ...

The big skate, Raja binoculata, and longnose skate, Raja rhina, are among the most common found in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from southern Alaska to northern Mexico. The big skate , also known as the Pacific great skate, reaches a width of 2.4m (8 ft.) across. For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ...

Genera

• Amblyraja
• Arhynchobatis
• Atlantoraja
• Bathyraja
• Breviraja
• Cruriraja
• Dactylobatus
• Dipturus
• Fenestraja
• Gilotea
• Gurgesiella
• Irolita
• Leucoraja
• Malacoraja
• Neoraja
• Notoraja
• Okamejei
• Pavoraja
• Psammobatis
• Pseudoraja
• Raja
• Rajella
• Rhinoraja
• Rioraja
• Rostroraja
• Sympterygia
• Zearaja

Amblyraja is a genus of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Binomial name Arhynchobatis asperrimus Waite, 1909 The longtail skate, Arhynchobatis asperrimus is a skate, the only member of the genus Arhynchobatis, found around New Zealand at depths of from 90 to 1,000 m on the continental shelf. ... Atlantoraja is a genus of fish in the Arhynchobatidae family. ... Species See text. ... Species See text. ... Gurgesiella is a genus of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Binomial name (Clark, 1926) The Maltese skate or Maltese ray (Leucoraja melitensis) is a species of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Neoraja is a genus of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Species See text. ... Psammobatis is a genus of fish in the Arhynchobatidae family. ... Species See text. ... Rajella is a genus of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Binomial name (Lacepède, 1803) The bottlenose skate, spearnose skate, or white skate (Rostroraja alba) is a species of fish in the Rajidae family. ... Sympterygia is a genus of fish in the Arhynchobatidae family. ...

Endangerment

Skates have slow growth rates and, since they mature late, low reproductive rates. As a result skates are vulnerable to overfishing and it appears that skates have been overfished and are suffering reduced population levels in many parts of the world. The barndoor skate, Raja laevis, is currently listed with the IUCN as vulnerable due to being severely overfished.^[3] However, population data is lacking to determine the exploitation of the big skate at this time. The Traffic Light colour convention, showing the concept of Harvest Control Rule (HCR), specifying when a rebuilding plan is mandatory in terms of precautionary and limit reference points for spawning biomass and fishing mortality rate. ... Binomial name Dipturus laevis Mitchill, 1818 The barndoor skate, Dipturus laevis, is a species of marine cartilaginous fish in the skate family (family Rajidae) of the order Rajiformes. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

See also

• Anacanthobatidae, the family of smooth skates.
• Jenny Haniver, a fake sea monster created from a skate corpse

Species See text. ... Species See text. ... A Jenny Haniver is a ray or a skate which has been modified and subsequently dried, resulting in a grotesque preserved specimen. ...

References

1. ^ "Rajidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. August 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
2. ^ "Fish to Avoid: Skate" from the Marine Conservation Society, retrieved November 11, 2006
3. ^ http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/bigskate/bigskate.html Florida Museum of Natural History

FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the common skate (Dipturus batis)
• Kliman, Todd. "Skate Goes From Trash Fish to Treasure", Washingtonian, May 1, 2006.

Look up skate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

Skate