1. Home
  2. Multimedia
  3. Image of the Day
  4. August 30, 2020

August 30, 2020: Deep-Sea Skate

This deep-sea skate was imaged during the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition. Scientists were able to tell it was a skate and not a ray by the two fins seen at the end of its tail as well as the two rows of teeth-like scales running in a pair of lines down the skate’s tail. This particular skate was identified as a female due to the lack of elongated fins, or claspers.

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017. Download larger version (jpg, 457 KB).

This deep-sea skate was imaged during the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition. Scientists were able to tell it was a skate and not a ray by the two fins seen at the end of its tail as well as the two rows of teeth-like scales running in a pair of lines down the skate’s tail. This particular skate was identified as a female due to the lack of elongated rear fins, or claspers.