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28-646: It is thought to be by the same scribe as the Macclesfield Psalter and the Douai Psalter . The use of the same dyes, paints, and similar iconography supports this. The manuscript forms part of the Stowe manuscripts in the British Library . This article about an illuminated manuscript is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This British Library -related article

56-507: A Dominican friar , who may have been the owner's confessor and may also have been involved in the production of the psalter. Skate (fish) Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays . More than 150 species have been described, in 17 genera. Softnose skates and pygmy skates were previously treated as subfamilies of Rajidae (Arhynchobatinae and Gurgesiellinae), but are now considered as distinct families. Alternatively,

84-530: A dog in a bishop's costume, an ape doctor giving a false diagnosis to a bear patient, rabbits jousting and riding hounds and a giant skate terrorising a man. Christopher de Hamel of Sotheby's attributes the illumination to one of the artists of the Douai Psalter . Stella Panayotova believes that the versatility displayed in the Macclesfield Psalter's design suggests the involvement of multiple artists and that "at least two assistants decorated

112-450: A mermaid's purse. These egg cases have distinct characteristics that are individualized to each species. This makes a great tool for identifying different species of skates. One of these identifiable structures is the keel. The keel is a flexible ridge that runs along the outside of the structure. Another characteristic is the number of embryos in the egg case. Some species contain only one embryo while others can have up to seven. The size of

140-455: A possible origin for our own development of walking by looking for similar neural pathways used for movement between skates and animals walking on land. Skates are like stingrays in that they have five pairs of gill slits that are located ventrally, which means on the underside of their body (unlike sharks that have their gills located on their sides). Skates and rays both have pectoral fins that are flat and expanded, which are typically fused to

168-577: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Macclesfield Psalter The Macclesfield Psalter is a lavishly illuminated manuscript probably produced c. 1320–30 in East Anglia . The psalter , or book of Psalms , contains 252 beautifully illustrated pages and is named after its most recent owner, the Earl of Macclesfield . Having rested unrecognised on the shelves of Shirburn Castle for several centuries, finally revealed when

196-461: Is little information about the diets of about 24% of these species. There are at least 45 dubious species of skates worldwide. Skates are cartilaginous fishes like other Chondrichthyes , however, skates, like rays and other Rajiformes , have a flat body shape with flat pectoral fins that extend the length of their body. This structure creates power for forward propulsion, providing the emergence swimming capabilities that enabled skates to colonize

224-670: The Ordovician , with the oldest unambiguous fossils of cartilaginous fish dating from the middle Devonian . A clade within this diverse family, the Neoselachii , emerged by the Triassic , with the best-understood neoselachian fossils dating from the Jurassic . This clade is represented today by sharks , sawfish , rays and skates. The body plan of skates is caused by skate-specific genomic rearrangements that have altered

252-557: The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has caught and studied skates within the Long Island Sound estuary. Some skate fauna have been found inhabiting areas of rock cobble and high rocky relief. Skates mate at the same nursery ground each year. In order to fertilize the egg, males use claspers , a structure attached to the pelvic fins. The claspers allow them to direct the flow of semen into

280-585: The East Anglian group, the Stowe Breviary and the Douai Psalter . The chief splendour of the Psalter, however, is indisputably the illumination, which is unusually lavish. There are some full-page miniatures at the start, and throughout the book each new verse begins with a small gilded initial against an ornate background of rose and pink. The initials at the traditional major divisions of

308-568: The Fitzwilliam Museum, was restored, rebound and put on display from 2008. The Macclesfield Psalter belongs in the "central tradition of the so-called East Anglian manuscripts, as exemplified by the Gorleston Psalter ." Like other luxury psalters, the Macclesfield Psalter was probably intended for private reading instead of public use in church. The scribe is believed to be the same one who executed two other psalters from

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336-894: The Psalms take up most of the page, and as is usual, the B of " Beatus vir ...", the start of Psalm 1, has the largest of all, a magnificent Jesse Tree . The main initials show religious scenes, either from the life of King David or events from the life of Christ that the Psalms were believed to pre-figure. The smaller initials contain various images, including kings, queens, peasants, and bishops. The margins of many pages are heavily decorated with abstract designs that constantly sprout into plant shapes, and contain many small "marginal grotesques" of no obvious religious relevance. The Psalter, (noted for its gaudy, vivid images and its coarse Pythonesque humour) abounds in images of grotesques and drolleries . These images include grotesques with faces on their bottoms, three-headed monsters with hairy noses,

364-533: The Psalter. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art gave the Psalter a starred rating and a temporary export bar was placed on the Psalter until 10 February 2005. In response, the Fitzwilliam Museum, assisted by an £860,000 contribution from the UK Government's National Heritage Memorial Fund raised the £1.7 million necessary to keep the Psalter in the country. The Psalter, now owned by

392-462: The borders and may have painted designs sketched by the Master". The original patron of the Psalter is unknown, as it appears that a coat of arms has been cut from the pages in various places throughout the Psalter. It is thought that the original owner could possibly have been John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey , the possible patron of the Gorleston Psalter . The Psalter also contains an image of

420-462: The dorsal side of the skate are their two eyes which allow for predator awareness. In addition to their pectoral fins, skates have a first and second dorsal fin , caudal fin and paired pelvic fins . Distinct from their rhomboidal shape is a long fleshy slender tail. While skate anatomy is similar to other Batoidea, features such as their electric organ and mermaid's purse create clear distinctions. Skates produce their young in an egg case called

448-409: The female's cloaca . Skates are oviparous , meaning they lay eggs with very little development in the mother. This is one major difference from rays, which are viviparous , meaning they give birth to live young. When a female skate is fertilized, a protected case forms around the embryo called an egg case , or more commonly mermaid's purse. This egg case is then deposited out of the mother's body onto

476-474: The fibrous shell around the case is another characteristic. Some species have thick layers on the exterior. The electric organ is a characteristic exclusive to aquatic species. Among the Chondrichthyes, the only groups to possess electric organs are the electric ray and the skates. Unlike many other electrogenic fishes, skates are unique in having paired electric organs which run longitudinally through

504-490: The head. Both skates and stingrays typically have their eyes on top of their head. Skates also share similar feeding habits with rays. Skates are different from rays in that they lack a whip-like tail and stinging spines. However, some skates have electric organs located in their tail. The main difference between skates and rays is that skates lay eggs, whereas rays give birth to live young. Moreover, skates can be more abundant than rays, and are fished for food in some parts of

532-538: The known species. The number of species is likely to increase as taxonomic issues are resolved and new species are identified. Thefollowing genera recognized in the family Rajidae: Skates have more valid species than any other group of cartilaginous fishes. Since 1950, 126 new species of skates have been discovered. Five scientists take credit for the rapid increase of findings. The Rajidae are considered monophyletic because of their similarity in appearance. There are 18 genera and about 250 valid species. However, there

560-529: The library was catalogued for sale, the Macclesfield Psalter was put up for auction at Sotheby's in 2004. Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Museum attempted to purchase the Psalter, but the initial bid was won by the Getty Museum of Malibu, California , for £1.7 million. The Psalter subsequently became a cause célèbre as, under British law, the American museum had to gain permission to export

588-409: The literature suggests that the electric organ discharges may be used as a form of communication used for reproduction purposes. Skates are primarily found from the intertidal down to depths greater than 3,000 m (9,843 ft). They are most commonly found along outer continental shelves and upper slopes. They are typically more diverse at higher latitudes and in deep-water. In fact, skates are

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616-437: The name "skate" is used to refer to the entire order of Rajiformes (families Anacanthobatidae , Arhynchobatidae , Gurgesiellidae and Rajidae ). Members of Rajidae are distinguished by a stiff snout and a rostrum that is not reduced. Skates belong to the ancient lineage of cartilaginous fishes. Fossil denticles (tooth-like scales in the skin) resembling those of today's chondrichthyans date at least as far back as

644-578: The ocean floor where the skates develop for up to 15 months before they enter the external environment. The majority of skates feed on bottom dwelling animals, such as shrimp, crab, oyster, clams, and other invertebrates. To feed on these animals they have grinding plates in their mouths. Skates are an influential part of the food webs of demersal marine communities. They utilize similar resources to those of other upper trophic-level marine predators, such as seabirds, marine mammals, and sharks. The flattened body shape, ventral eyes and well developed spiracles of

672-487: The only cartilaginous fish taxon to exhibit more diversity of species at higher latitudes. A cool, temperate to polar water in the deep sea can be a favorable environment for skates. As the water becomes more shallow and warmer, skates are seen to be replaced by stingrays. Skates are absent from brackish and freshwater environments. However, there is a single estuarine species that has been found in Tasmania, Australia. Also,

700-507: The sea floor. A large portion of the skate's dorsal body is covered by rough skin made of placoid scales . Placoid scales have a pointed tip that is oriented caudally and are homologous to teeth. Their mouths are located on the underside of the body, with a jaw suspension common to Batoids known as euhyostyly. Skate's gill slits are located ventrally as well, but dorsal spiracles allow the skate to be partially buried in floor sediment and still complete respiratory exchange. Also located on

728-407: The skate allows them to live benthically, buried in the sediment or using a longitudinal undulation of the pectoral fins known as Rajiform locomotion to glide along the water floor. Current research suggests that some species of skates, in addition to their Rajiform locomotion, use their pelvic fins to perform ambulatory locomotion. This form of locomotion performed by the skate is being explored as

756-489: The tail in the lateral musculature of the notochord. The impulses put out by the electric organs of the skate are considered to be weak, asynchronous, long-lasting signals. Although the anatomy of the skate's electric organ is well described, its function is poorly understood. Some research suggests the electric impulses are too weak to be a mechanism used for defense or hunting. It is also too irregular to be useful for electrolocation purposes. The most reasonable explanation in

784-455: The three-dimensional regulatory landscape of genes. These changes arose about 286–221  million years ago when skates diverged from sharks. The skate belongs to the class Chondrichthyes . This class consists of all the cartilaginous fishes, including sharks and stingrays. Chondrichthyes is divided into two subclasses; of which Elasmobranchii includes skates, rays, and sharks. Skates are the most diverse elasmobranch group, comprising over 20% of

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