OX RAY. 143 



given by Lacepede is of the under side only; it agrees, 

 however, very well in the general form and proportions, broad, 

 recurved pectoral fins, frontal processes, and the small size of 

 the tail. There is a very strong resemblance also between 

 the present fish and the Indian C. Kuhlii, as figured by 

 Midler and Henle, particularly in the form of the lateral 

 processes of the head, and the general proportions of the 

 body; but our specimen and Dr. Fabroni's seem to differ 

 from that species in the small size of the head, and some 

 minor points, in addition to the difference of habitat. 



"Length of the Irish specimen from the front to the dorsal 

 fin one foot eight inches; entire width three feet eight inches 

 and a half; height of the dorsal fin two inches and a half, 

 length the same; from one eye to the other eight inches." 



For the sake of brevity I will take from the accounts of 

 Lacepede and Risso only as much as may serve to afford a 

 proper understanding of the nature and uses of the remarkable 

 processes which have been compared to horns, and which 

 form the principal portion of the character of this tribe of 

 fishes, the employment of which appears to constitute a highly 

 curious portion of their history. In the example described 

 by Lacepede those processes were slender, moveable, and 

 upwards of eighteen inches in length, thus measuring about a 

 fourth part of the whole length of the body of the fish. 

 They are formed of ribs of cartilage bound together with a 

 membranous substance, so moulded as to be capable of being- 

 spread out like a fan, a structure which serves as well to 

 enable the fish to feel its way, as to convey food to its mouth. 

 Risso describes these processes in the recent fish as being 

 whitish on the inside, tinted with blue on the outside, and 

 very black at the extremity. It appears to have the power 

 to unroll these processes at will, and to direct them towards 

 any object it wishes to approach. Its mouth is large, and the 

 jaws are furnished with several rows of blunt teeth. There 

 were two long appendages (apparently claspers) attached to 

 the ventral fins; tail long, tapering, with three rows of rough 

 elevations. The length of the example was between thirteen 

 and fourteen feet. 



In the month of September, 1807, a female of this species, 

 which weighed twelve hundred pounds, was caught in a stake- 



