The Spotted Eagle Ray. 291 



There are in my possession at this writing six sets of jaws from Beaufort, 

 three of my own taking and three loaned by Mr. Coles. Mine are intact, 

 but Mr. Coles's have the jaws separated and most of the cartilages cut away. 

 Description of these dental apparatuses may not be devoid of interest. 



My 1909 specimen was 18 inches long by 26 wide. Its lower jaw (text- 

 fig. 14) is 2)li inches long by 2 wide, and has 17 teeth of which the anterior 

 9 are much worn. The upper jaw is 2 inches long by i^ wide, and has 

 13 teeth, of which the 5 anterior forward ones show much signs of wear, 

 the most anterior one having lost the outer third on each side. Owing to 

 the fact that these jaws have been dried flat, i. e., with the upper jaw bent 

 back approximately into the same plane as the lower, I am unable to give 

 the amount of projection of the lower jaw.^ 



Of the 1910 specimens, the first (size 19 by 28}/^ inches) had a lower 

 jaw 3 inches long and i inch wide. It contains 18 teeth, of which 12 show 

 much wear. The upper jaw is lY^ inches long by i^ wide, and contains 1 1 

 teeth, 5 of which are much worn. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper 

 by 6 teeth or i inch. This jaw is viewed from above in figure 23, plate ix. 



Specimen No. 2 for 1910, measuring i83^ inches long by 273^ inches 

 wide, being approximately of the same size as the above but having a 

 longer tail, was left as an exhibit in the laboratory and no measurements of 

 its jaws can be given. Ray No. 3, 263^2 inches long by 37 wide, was the 

 largest Beaufort specimen I have ever seen. Its lower jaw is 4 inches long 

 and i]/^ wide, and contains 21 teeth. Of these the 12 forward ones show 

 wear, the most anterior 6 being deeply eroded and the 3 in front having 

 their left edges chipped off. The upper jaw is 234 inches long and i^ wide, 

 and contains 15 teeth, of which 6 show hard usage. The lower jaw projects 

 1 3^ inches or 6 teeth beyond the upper jaw. Figure 22, plate ix, is a 

 lateral view of these jaws showing their relative position when closed. 



As noted above, all of Coles's 19 10 specimens unfortunately have the 

 jaws separated and cleared of cartilages, and in doing so the soft hinder 

 teeth have been cut away. The size of only one fish can be given. The 

 smallest lower jaw is 3^3 inches long and i^ wide; it contains 19 teeth, the 

 anterior 8 being badly worn. The upper jaw measures 2 by i^^ inches; 

 much of the hinder end has been cut off and 4 of its 14 teeth show usage. 

 The second pair measures, for the lower jaw, 33^2 by i^ inches. It has 17 

 teeth remaining, having lost at both ends, for the keen edge on the outer- 

 most tooth shows that its predecessor has but lately dropped off. The 

 grinding surface covers the 7 anterior teeth, but at the points of the ninth 

 and tenth teeth there is a slight, irregular depression made by some hard 

 object. The upper jaw of this pair is 23^ inches long and i J^ wide, and of 

 its 13 teeth 5 show much wear. 



Coles's largest measured fish was 36 inches long by 69 wide. Its lower 

 jaw, after some considerable abbreviation behind, is still 5)^ inches long, 

 while its width is an even 2 inches. It has 21 teeth remaining, of which the 



1 All measurements of jaws are made along the curve and cover or include the teeth only. 



