Skate

Common Name: Skate
Scientific Name: Raja batis
Range: E. Atlantic Ocean: Arctic Ocean to Maderia; Mediterranean Sea
Habitat: Deep Waters
Size: 8 feet / 2.4 meters
Comments:Large numbers of skate are caught for food. Skates live in waters 98 to 2,000 ft (30 to 600 m) deep; only young fishes are found in the shallower part of this range. The skate has a flat body, broad pectoral fins and a tiny tail. There are small spines on the tail and on the underside of the body; adult females also have spines on the front edge of the body, while males have spines on their backs.

Skates are bottom-dwellers; they eat fish, crabs, lobsters and octopuses. Their eggs, deposited on the seabed, are encased in horny capsules which have long tips at each corner. Hatchlings are about 80 in (21 cm) long.