STARRY RAY. 



587 



the inner edge of each eye ; temporal orifices rather large ; 

 one large spine above the line of the transverse cartilaginous 

 arch, one upon the centre of it in the line of the dorsal ridge, 

 and two spines at each lateral extremity of the transverse 

 arch : below this cross-bar commences a series of equally 

 large spines on the dorsal ridge, which extends to the first fin 

 on the tail ; between these large spines arc a few smaller ones, 

 and on each side the central row of large spines is another 

 row of spines about half the size of the large ones, but more 

 numerous, forming three distinct rows down the back and 

 tail ; but all of them, though differing in size, have the same 

 character in respect to the beautifully radiated form of the 

 base from which the ascending spine arises : the upper surface 

 of the body independently of this arming is perfectly smooth ; 

 the colour pale brown, with a tinge of orange brown. 



On the under surface the colour is uniformly white ; the 

 skin soft and smooth ; the nostrils large, defended by a cuta- 

 neous valve ; the mouth rather small ; the teeth in the male 

 with the internal angle elongated and sharp, and in a second 

 specimen, a female of ten inches only in length, the teeth are 

 becoming pointed. 



The sexual appendages in the male here described are half 

 as long as the tail ; and as these, as well as the other sexual 

 distinctions, are well marked in this fish, which only measures 

 fourteen inches in breadth, I am induced to believe, from 

 the early acquisition of these characters, that this species 

 does not attain a very large size. This species is probably 

 the Raia asteria aspera Rondelctii of Willughby, p. 73, 

 pi. D, o, f. 4, and the Raia aspera of M. de Blainville, in 

 the Faun. Fran$. ; but I have not included these names 

 among the synonymes at the head of the subject, for the 

 want of that additional certainty which good figures would 

 have supplied. 



