What is the difference between skates and rays?
Both are cartilaginous fishes that look like flattened sharks. Rays usually have a barb, complete with venom sac, attached about 1/3 the way down their tails. Skates do not have a barb, but have small thorns or spines that are not venomous. Most skates lay eggs — you find these devil’s pocketbooks or mermaid’s purses washed up on the beach. Most rays give birth to live young.
