Skate (fish) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Skates |
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| Arctic skate, Amblyraja hyperborea | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Family: | Rajidae Bonaparte, 1831 |
For the act of skating, see skating.
Skates are cartilaginous fish. They are the family Rajidae in the order Rajiformes. They are chondrichthyes, and closely related to the rays. There are more than 200 species in 27 genera.
There are two subfamilies, the hardnose skates and the softnose skates.
Skates and stingrays
Skates are a bit like stingrays (they are in the same group), but they are usually smaller with shorter, thicker tails. There is also a difference: skates do not have stings. Instead, their tails are thicker, with small "thorns" along the edges. At the base of the tail is a set of extra fins.
Skates and rays are also different in the way the give birth. Most rays are ovoviviparous (the eggs develop inside a mother's body), but skates lay their eggs. This means they are oviparous.
Images for kids
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Early Eocene fossil stingray Heliobatis radians
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A skate is caught in the Outer Banks using a Carolina rig
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Full view of a skate's mermaid's purse. Roughly 125 mm in length.
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The fibers of the skate electric organ are embedded in the muscles located lateral to the notochord in the tail.
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Four developing embryos located in an opened big skate egg case (mermaid's purse)
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See also
In Spanish: Rajidae para niños
