560 The True Sharks 



Mania birostris. It is said to be much dreaded by the pearl- 

 fishers, who fear that it will devour them "after enveloping 

 them in its vast wings." It is not likely, however, that the 

 manta devours anything larger than the pearl-oyster itself. 

 Mania hamiltoni is a name given to a sea-devil of the Gulf of 

 California. The European species Mobula edentula reaches a 

 similarly enormous size, and Mobula hypostoma has been scantily 

 described from Jamaica and Brazil. Mobula japonica occurs 

 in Japan. A fcetus in my possession from a huge specimen 

 taken at Misaki is nearly a foot across. In Mobula (Cephalopterd) 

 there are teeth in both jaws, in Manta (Ceratoptera) in the lower 

 jaw only. In Ceratobatis from Jamaica (C. robertsi] there are 

 teeth in the upper jaw only. Otherwise the species of the three 

 genera are much alike, and from their huge size are little known 

 and rarely seen in collections. Of Mobulida no extinct species 

 are known. 



