Elleda Wilson: Take a peek

Elleda Wilson, The Daily Astorian, Ore.
·1 min read

May 25—"Hey, take a look inside our mermaid purse!" the Seaside Aquarium posted on their Facebook page on Feb. 21. "This strange leathery, olive green, horned pouch (photo, inset) is a big skate egg casing. They can't normally be seen into — this was an intentionally and very carefully done excision with the intent of observing the embryos throughout the course of their development.

"... As the skates grow, the yolk sack will shrink, and when it is almost gone, the babies will be ready to leave the case. By the end of gestation (about 11 months after being deposited on the sea floor by a female skate), the case will have degraded and softened enough for the skates to swim out of an opening."

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