You may have found these dried out pouches while walking the beach and wondered what they were. Some people call them “mermaids purses”. They hold a skate embryo until it’s time to venture out in to the ocean. Watch a baby skate (Leucoraja erinacea) hatching!
![](https://selfreliancecentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/video-baby-skate-hatches.jpg)