Skate

Description:

Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. More than 200 species have been described in 27 genera. The two subfamilies are Rajinae (hard nose skate) and Arhynchobatinae (soft nose skates). The long tail 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 meters on the continental shelf. It's length is from 30 to 75 centimeters.

Habitat:

Raja is a genus of skates in the family Rajidae containing nearly 30 species. They are flat-bodied, cartilaginous fish with a rhombic shapes due to their large pectoral fins extending from or nearly from the snouts to the bases of their tails. Their sharp snouts are produced by a cranial projection of rostral cartilage. The mouth and gills are located underside of the body. They may be either solid-coloured or patterned, and most skates have spiny or thorn-like structures on the upper surface, and some contain weak electrical organs within their tails. Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resembles a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest. The Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia to detritivores, and even to tiny parasites species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. Catfish are considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.

Notes:

Teresa Walker /Biology 102-D02/ 9-10-14 The skate was spotted in the Chesapeake Bay River at 12:00 p.m. on 8-30-14. The catfish was in one of my co-workers aquarium at his house in Norfolk. I visited my co-worker home on 9-4-14 at 4:30 p.m.