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Is Skate kosher?

No — Skate is not kosher under Jewish dietary law.

Not kosher. Skates are cartilaginous fish (same class as sharks) without the scales required by kashrut.

Skate (Rajidae)

Image: Photo by Robert Mintern · licensed Public domain · source

Scientific name
Rajidae
Also known as
Common skate, Little skate, Winter skate
Category
cartilaginous
Fins & scales
Fins ✓ , no scales ✗
Kosher status
Not kosher

About Skate

Flat-bodied cartilaginous fish of the family Rajidae, related to rays. 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, 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 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, 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. Taxonomy and systematics Evolution 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 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...

Kosher ruling

Not kosher. Skates are cartilaginous fish (same class as sharks) without the scales required by kashrut.

Source: Orthodox Union, Chabad; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0); Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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