What are 3 adaptations of skates and rays for living on the bottom? Contrast these adaptations to ...

The skates and rays are adapted to their benthic lifestyle by having flattened bodies that may not be very obvious to potential prey or predators. Likewise, bony fishes such as flatfishes are also flat. The skates and rays also have spiracles on their dorsal surfaces, which they use for drawing in water that is passed over the gills. The bony flatfishes do not have such a structure but rely on the opening of their mouths and their operculum for drawing in water through the mouth. Both the skates and rays and the flatfishes show strong countershading, with light underside and a dark dorsal surface that blends in with the environment.