136 EAGLE RAY. 



the ovum attached to its body; and threads or fibres projecting 

 from the orifices of the gills; such as are known to exist in 

 the Sharks and Rays, and indeed also in toads, frogs, and 

 water-lizards, in the early stages of their existence; but which 

 in the former disappear when their functions are no longer 

 needed, considerably before they are thrust upon an indepen- 

 dent existence. The spine on the tail had not yet made its 

 appearance. I have received by the kindness of a gentleman 

 in Dorsetshire, another purse of the same sort, obtained on the 

 coast of that county; a further proof that this fish is not so 

 rare a visitor as has been supposed. 



Besides the above proof that this fish produces its young by 

 means of purses instead of producing them alive, the circum- 

 stances here related also shew that it is not merely a rare visitor 

 to our neighbourhood; and of this also the following incident 

 furnishes evidence; for that it refers to this sj^ecies I feel no 

 manner of doubt: A fisherman, long and well acquainted with 

 the fishes of the British seas, and especially with all our common 

 sorts of the family of Rays, informed me that in the month of 

 July, whilst at sea, his attention was attracted to a fish which 

 was swimming close to the surface, when the sea was smooth 

 and the weather fine. Its general appearance was that of the 

 Ray kind, but with a particular aspect, which on closer 

 inquiry clearly answered to that of the Eagle Ray; the eyes 

 especially attracting his notice, as at the side of the head, and 

 resembling those of an ox. When he approached it for 

 examination, the boat passed over it, and in doing so inflicted 

 a violent blow, which caused the fish to turn almost over in the 

 water; but it presently set itself right again, and moved heavily 

 onward. He laid hold of it with the boat-hook; but the weight, 

 which, on comparison with the Skates, he judged to be not 

 less than three hundred pounds, was too great for him, and 

 he was obliged to resign the task, and he finally lost sight of 

 it; but not by the sinking of the fish, for it continued near 

 the surface until the boat had passed to leeward out of sight. 



The incident here related shews the fish to be of dull and 

 sluggish habits; but that it is not so great a stranger as has 

 been supposed even on the north of British coasts, appears 

 from the fact, that an example was obtained by Dr. George 

 Johnston, in the neighbourhood of Berwick. 





