Atlantic pygmy skate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Atlantic pygmy skate |
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The Atlantic pygmy skate is a type of skate, a fish related to sharks. It is also called the Atlantic finless skate or just the Atlantic skate. This special fish belongs to the family Gurgesiellidae. You can find it in the western central and southwest parts of the Atlantic Ocean, from Nicaragua all the way to Brazil. This skate can grow to be about 49 centimetres (19 in) to 52 centimetres (20 in) long. It's easy to spot because it has a very long, thin tail and no fins on its back.
What Does the Atlantic Pygmy Skate Look Like?
The Atlantic pygmy skate is a medium-sized skate. Its body can be about 19.6 centimetres (7.7 in) wide. The total length of the skate is usually around 49 centimetres (19 in) to 52 centimetres (20 in). The exact size can be a little different depending on where the information comes from.
Its upper body is light brown, sometimes with spots. Its belly is a brownish-pink color. The tail is darker, usually a deep shade of brown, and it has a black fin at the very end of its tail.
This skate's tail is super long and thin, which is unusual for a skate. It also doesn't have any fins on its back. These two things make it very easy to tell apart from other skates in the ocean. Its back is covered with many small, tooth-like bumps called denticles.
Adult male skates have thorns on the front part of their body. Female skates have thorns in the middle of their tail and on their body. Adult males also have thin, long parts called claspers, which are used for reproduction. Other cool features of this skate include a long fin at the end of its tail, long fins near its belly, big eyes, a short nose, and a mouth that curves upwards.
How Does the Atlantic Pygmy Skate Live?
The Atlantic pygmy skate lays eggs. This is called oviparity. It lays its eggs in pairs. The young skates grow inside these eggs. They get all their food from a yolk, just like a chicken egg. The shells of their eggs have horn-shaped parts sticking out.
This skate is a demersal fish. This means it lives on or near the bottom of the sea floor. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says it lives in waters between 247 metres (810 ft) and 960 metres (3,150 ft) deep. However, another source called FishBase says it lives in a smaller range, from 374 metres (1,227 ft) to 480 metres (1,570 ft) deep.
Where Can You Find the Atlantic Pygmy Skate?
The Atlantic pygmy skate lives in the Atlantic Ocean. You can find it as far north as Nicaragua and as far south as northern Brazil. This includes countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
This skate is a bathydemersal fish. This means it lives on the deeper parts of the continental slope, which is the underwater land that slopes down from the edge of a continent. We don't know much about how many Atlantic pygmy skates there are or what dangers they face. Because of this, no special actions are being taken right now to protect them. The IUCN lists this species as "least concern," meaning it's not currently at high risk of disappearing.
