Bathyraja mariposa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bathyraja mariposa |
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The butterfly skate (scientific name: Bathyraja mariposa) is a type of skate that lives near the Aleutian Islands. It's a medium-brown color. This skate doesn't have sharp thorns on its main body, called the disc. It has only faint thorns on its tail. Scientists first found this skate in 2002 during a special ocean survey. They officially described it in 2004. Its name, "mariposa," comes from the Spanish word for butterfly.
What Does the Butterfly Skate Look Like?
The butterfly skate is a medium-sized skate compared to others found in Alaska. It can grow to be about 0.76 meters (or about 2.5 feet) long. It has a long nose, called a snout, and a tail that is also quite long.
This skate looks a bit like two other Alaskan skates. However, you can tell them apart by their colors. The butterfly skate is green-brown on its back. It has small dark brown or black spots on its body and tail. You can also often see large yellowish spots on its side fins, which are called pectoral fins. Its back is covered in tiny, tooth-like scales called dermal denticles.
Where Does the Butterfly Skate Live?
The butterfly skate mostly lives in the Aleutian Islands. Scientists have estimated that there are about 0.34 butterfly skates in every square kilometer of the ocean floor there. Special fishing surveys, called trawl surveys, have not found this skate anywhere else. This suggests it mainly lives in the central part of the Aleutian Islands.
Scientists believe it lives near the bottom of the ocean. It has been found in waters that are between 90 and 448 meters (about 295 to 1,470 feet) deep.
