Here’s a fishy tail I found on Cromer beach today.
Here’s a detail. The skin is very rough, and those spines are wickedly sharp – they look (and feel) like the thorns on a rose bush, and thereby hangs a clue.
I found a dogfish tail a day or so ago, and Canis croxorum sniffed out something similar this morning. I think they’re discards – the bits that fishermen don’t want, chop off, and throw over the side.
Cromercrox
is an author who lives in Cromer, Norfolk, England, with his family and numerous pets. He enjoys writing, playing rock organ, beachcombing, supporting Norwich City FC, and falling asleep. By day he is a Senior Editor of a well-known weekly professional science journal beginning with N, whose parent organisation wishes it to be known that none of the views expressed on this blog are theirs, because they don't know where they've been.Twitstorm
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... is a long way away from anywhere, and if I were you, I shouldn't start from here. By the time you get to the outskirts of Cromer, any distinctions between science, beachcombing, social commentary, writing and animal husbandry have started to blur. When the process is complete, you know you've arrived at the End Of The Pier Show. So, welcome. Find somewhere to park your unicycle. Pull up agirrafechair. Make yourself comfortable.-
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That’s a Raja clavata you’ve got there my friend.
Full marks there, Sir. It is indeed a thornback ray. I saw another thornback tail on the beach today. I expect the front halves will soon be appearing as fish fingers, in a freezer cabinet near you.
Never heard of such a thing, so thanks for the educative post. Looks like something you would not want to tangle with…
It’s not venomous, but those thorns are unbelievably sharp. And the skin – well, you can see why craftsmen once used sharkskin as sandpaper.
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