The deepsea skate (Bathyraja abyssicola) is a species of softnose skate, in the family Arhynchobatidae, found in deep water from 362 to 2,906 m, usually on the continental slope. They are distributed from off northern Baja California around Coronado Island and Cortes Bank, north to the Bering Sea, and west to Japan. There have also been sightings north of Darwin Island within the Galapagos Marine Reserve in 2015. This was the first record of the Deepsea Skate being found in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. It is fairly common below 1,000 m, and is taken as bycatch in deepwater trawls and traps. The species name abyssicola comes from the Greek abyssos meaning "bottomless", and cola meaning "living at depths". Large males have irregular whitish blotches and numerous dark spots, while females have reduced or absent blotches. Juveniles tend to be uniform in color. The deepsea skate is oviparous. The egg cases are oblong capsules with stiff, pointed horns at the corners, deposited on sandy or muddy flats. Deepwater skates feed on benthic organisms, including annelid worms, cephalopods, tanner crabs, shrimps, and bony fishes. Invertebrates comprise a greater proportion of the diet than fishes in juveniles below 1 m. We do not know what, if anything preys on these creatures. Bathyraja abyssicola, like all other skates, have internal fertilization and are oviparous or egg laying. Females are estimated to mature at about 1.4 m total length and males around 1.1 to 1.2 m total length.
