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We humans can skate but some scientists think skates can walk—and that we and they are more closely related than previously thought. Skates are a group within what are known as rays (though sometimes ‘rays’ is meant to refer to only those which are not skates). Rays are the largest group of fish with skeletons made from cartilage, not bone. They are known for both their flat body shape and their bottom-dwelling habit.. . .
You can read the entire article by clicking on "Walk like a skate?"Since skates have often been observed shuffling around on the sea floor, there has been evolutionary speculation that they might provide clues about how land vertebrates first conquered the land. Scientists studying a small skate species, Leucoraja erinacea, now think they have found support for this idea, and they published their findings and ideas in the prestigious journal Cell.
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