Clearnose skate

Skates and rays are related to sharks. Unlike flounders, these fish are flattened and lie on their bellies. Skates are harmless. Stingrays have one or more dangerous barbed stingers in the tail and will use them if molested. Finally, the Torpedo is an electric fish and can generate enough voltage to be dangerous. Some skates give birth to live young, while others lay their eggs encased in a horned Mermaid’s Purse. Dasyatis sayi Size: to 3 ft across Habitat: Soft sandy bottoms, depths from shallows to 1400 ft. Notes: Potentially dangerous The commonest inshore ray. Long smooth whip-like tail with stinger but no fins. Roughtail Stingray similar but larger. Smaller Atlantic Stingray and larger Southern Stingray may occasionally stray this far north as well. More: Torpedo nobiliana Size: to 6 ft long, 200 lbs., and 220 volts Habitat: Soft sandy bottoms, from water’s edge to 350 ft. Uncommon. Notes: Potentially dangerous Distinguishing characteristics: Round body with a short tail and no stingers. This fish can produce enough electricity to stun a swimmer, but it is usually unaggressive. They are uncommon but deserve mention for the surprise they pack. I have seen unaware divers ( including a PADI “Underwater Naturalist” instructor ) get zapped in the tropics by the smaller ( 40 volts ) electric rays there. More: The Mermaid’s Purse is not an invertebrate at all – it is a fish egg capsule. The egg capsule of a skate or ray, to be precise. The “horns” are to secure the capsule i...

WHAT ARE SKATES & RAYS? Skates and rays are flattened carnivorous fish, closely related to sharks. Skates, rays and sharks are cartilaginous fish (scientific name Chondrichthyes). Instead of heavy, white bones, they have a skeleton made from cartilage (the same substance that forms a human’s nose and ears). Cartilage is a tremendously strong and flexible fibrous tissue that forms the framework for bones to ossify (harden) upon. It’s why babies have rubbery legs when they begin to walk. Cartilage is flexible, strong and dense, but not so heavy as bone. So cartilage reduces weight, making it easier for these fish to swim at fast speeds with less energy being expelled to catch prey. Out of around 1,000 species of cartilaginous fishes, about 400 species are sharks, and about 600 species are skates and rays in oceans throughout the world. Skates and rays spend a lot of time buried in the sand. Either hiding from predators or lying in wait for unsuspecting prey. The mouth, nostrils and gill slits of skates and rays are always found on the underside of the fish, with the eyes and spiracles (breathing holes) on the upper side. When buried in the sand, skates and rays rely on spiracles to provide them with oxygen. According to the fossil records, it is believed skates and rays evolved 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period as guitar-like fish. They even had spines! It is currently accepted that all skates and rays are derived from guitar-like fishes, but the evolutio...

Some refer to Clearnose Skates, also known as Brier Skates or Summer Skates, get their name for the translucent area on each side of the snout. Clearnose Skate can be caught year round bottom fishing and drift fishing using strips of squid, cut up fish, or pieces of peeler crab for bait. Region: Northeast, South Habitat: Ocean, Bay How to identify Clearnose Skate The upper side of the Clearnose Skate is typically a grayish-brown, and the bottom white. The areas directly to the side of each snout are translucent, and their upper side has mottling. Dark markings are present on the top pectoral fins of the Clearnose Skate. Where to catch Clearnose Skate Clearnosk Skate are found in the Atlantic along the east coast of the U.S. from southern Florida up to Massachusetts and the U.S. coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico. They tend to stay in shallow, partially salinated waters with soft and hard bottoms (sand, mud, gravel, rock.) During spring and winter, they are more often found in inland waters. During summer and fall they can be found ffshore as deep as 1,000 feet. Range: Northeast, South Best Lures, Bait & Tackle to catch Clearnose Skate Clearnose skates feed on Fiddler crabs, small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. They will respond to a number of baits including cut squid, pieces of cut up fish and peeler crab. The following are fishing lures, bait and tackle that can be used to catch Clearnose Skate: • • • • •

Collapse the menu Visit Plan Your Visit Gifts Groups Special Offers Daily Schedule Special Events Frequently Asked Questions Accessibility Community A Quick Trip From D.C. Explore Explore Animals Award-Winning Exhibits Tours & Experiences Livestreams Virtual Tour Support Support Our Mission Give Today Membership Conservation Volunteer Partnerships Buy Tickets Other Differences Stinging spines vs. thorns, viviparous vs. oviparous—there are more differences between stingrays and skates than meets the eye. Stinging Spines vs. Thorny Projections If you take a look at a stingray's tail, you'll find their namesake stinging spines, or barbs, which they use as protection. These sharp, serrated spines deliver venom into predators—or into the feet of humans that accidentally step on a buried stingray, which can be extremely painful, but rarely fatal. Stingrays typically aren't aggressive but will protect themselves when threatened by raising their tails up, piercing the skin of their predators and injecting the venom. Instead of stinging spines, skates' tails are lined with blunt, thorny projections, which also line skates' backs. These "thorns" aren't venomous like a stingray's spines, but they're also used for protection. A would-be predator, like a shark or grouper, that spots a skate may think twice about biting down on these thorn-like adornments. Reproductive Strategy The reproductive strategies of these two elasmobranchs are vastly different. Stingrays are viviparous, which m...

CHIMAERAS, SHARKS, SKATES AND RAYS: Chondrichthyes Hydrolagus colliei): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Galeocerdo cuvier): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Carcharodon carcharias): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Manta birostris): SPECIES ACCOUNTS Raja eglanteria): SPECIES ACCOUNTS PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Chimaeras (kye-MIHR-uhs), sharks, and skates and rays are the class of fishes whose skeleton is made of cartilage (KAR-teh-lej), a tough but flexible supporting tissue. Chimaeras have large heads and long bodies that taper to a whiplike tail. The skin is smooth and rubbery and has no scales. Sharks and skates and rays have gills that open to the outside, have no GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Chimaeras, sharks, and skates and rays live all over the world except in the Antarctic region. HABITAT Chimaeras usually live on muddy bottoms near the shore. Sharks live in coastal waters on the bottom or out at sea in open water or at the bottom. Skates and rays live on the bottom in saltwater or freshwater or move back and forth between the two. DIET Chimaeras eat bottom-dwelling animals such as crabs, clams, and fishes. Some sharks are fierce predators (PREH-duh-terz) that hunt and eat every sort of sea animal. Others simply strain plankton, the microscopic (MY-kro-SKA-pihk), invisible to the eye, plants and animals that drift in bodies of water. Most skates and rays eat bottom-dwelling shelled animals and bony fishes. BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION All chimaeras, sharks, and skates and rays reproduce by internal fertilization (FUR-teh-lih-z...

NEAMAP Abundance Index ChesMMAP Abundance Index SURVEY CATCH DISTRIBUTION Clearnose Skate - Raja eglanteria * Information from FAO Species Identification Guide Western Central Atlantic* Size Maximum to 79 cm total length and 52 cm width; common to about 70 cm total length in area. Diagnostic characters: Disc rhombic, about 1.2 to 1.3 times as broad as long; snout moderately projecting; anterior angle of snout 90 to 110 degrees; anterolateral margin of discstraight to slightly concave opposite spiracles; outer corners of disc abruptly rounded; posterior corners of disc broadly rounded. Snout moderately long, preorbital length 14 to 15% total length. Mouth straight to slightly arched; teeth arranged in 46 to 54 rows in upper jaw. Pectoral-fin radials extend slightly anterior to midlength of snout. Anterior pelvic-fin lobe connected to posteriorlobe by membrane, and anteriorlobe about 50% length of posterior lobe. Tail about 50% total length, lateral tail fold well developed and extending from tip of posterior lobe of pelvic fins to near tip of tail; dorsal fins of similar shape and size and separated by space equal to about 1/4 length of base of first dorsal fin. Denticles in band along anterior margin of disc and over much of remainder of disc; thorns in crescent-shaped arc along inner margin of orbits and spiracles; continuous row of thorns from nuchal region to first dorsal fin; 1 to 5 scapular thorns, not arranged with nuchal thorns in triangular patch; lateral and often...

I was told the 2 blades on the tail can cut like razors. I caught several last year and stepped on the tail while it was on it's back to get the hook out. Being a rookie at it, I then used my rod holer on the beach to push it back in the water and on the pier I used my cooler. I know a sting ray will spike ya, but what about a skate, will they cut you? How do you properly handle and release a skate? Can you hold the tail with a glove and not worry about getting sliced? Does anyone use their wings for cutbait? What kind are you dealing with? We've got stingers, clearnose skates, butterfly skates, and cownose rays that we catch consistently here. Stingers of course, have that nasty barb covered spear, but are toothless and I've picked them up by the mouth(do not do with smaller rays as they can swing around on you I've learned). Clearnose are covered with small spines, pretty much all over and the safest way to handle them is picking them up by the tail with a set of pliers. I've only caught one butterfly skate and don't recall there being any sort of spines or barbs. Cownose are barbed like stingers. Matt, I've always stepped on their tails when handling them myself. The ones that I used to catch in MA had a series of small spines along their tails that could rip you up pretty good. I didn't release many though, they are great eating fish. As a matter of fact fisherman used to punch out the wings with tools like leather punches, and sell them as scallops. They're delicious....