Smooth skate
| Smooth skate | |
|---|---|
| Leaf-nose leg skate | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Family: | Anacanthobatidae von Bonde & Swart, 1923 |
| Genera | |
|
see text | |
The Anacanthobatidae, the smooth skates or leg skates, are a family of skates found at depths below 200 m (660 ft) in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
They lack the dorsal denticles (sharp, tooth-like scales) of other rays, hence their name, from Greek an- meaning "without", acantha meaning "thorn", and bathys meaning "deep".
They are bottom-dwelling fishes found on the continental slopes of tropical and subtropical waters.