FAMILY RAIID.E RAIA. 369 



THE SPOTTED RAY. 



Raia ocellata. 



PLATE LXV. FIG. 212. Upper and under side (male). 



Raia ocellata, Ocellated Ray. Mitchill, Trans. Lit. anil Phil. Soc. Vol. 1, p. 447. 

 Raia chantcnay. Lesueur, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Vol. 4, p. 106, pi. 5. 

 Ocellated Ray, Raia ocellata. Storer, Report on the Fishes of Massachusetts, p. 191. 



Characteristics. Light brown, with numerous ocellated black spots. Length two to three feet. 



Description. Body rhomboidal, depressed, with the anterior margin of the pectorals slightly 

 sinuous ; the posterior margin undulated, rounded behind, and much attenuated at its junc- 

 tion with the body. Upper surface roughened with distant patches of spines ; on the nose, 

 over the eyes, and forming a distinct patch near the centre of the pectorals. A series of 

 distant acute prickles on the dorsal surface of the tail, and another similar series on each 

 side. Snout prominent, and continuous with the line of the sides. Eyes oblong, straw- 

 colored, with a stellated membrane covering the pupils. Temporal orifices situated obliquely 

 behind the eyes, and one inch in length, with a valvular entrance. Mouth transverse, very 

 dilatable, with tubular subpentagonal teeth arranged on the semicylindric jaws ; the posterior 

 teeth more pointed. Triangular processes, or nasal lobes of some writers, on each side of 

 the upper jaw, with folds extending to the rounded valvular nostrils. The branchial apertures 

 arranged in an oblique curved series, the posterior smallest. The under side of the body 

 smooth. Tail stout, rounded above, flat beneath, nearly as long as the body. Two small 

 dorsals on the tail, near its extremity. Pectorals with a loose cuticular membrane behind 

 the lateral angle, marked dusky oblique lines indicating the place of the rays ; this membrane 

 rather more distinct in the males. Ventrals (in the male) very deeply excavated behind, the 

 posterior lobe broadest ; they contain about twenty-four rays. Sexual organs robust, elongated. 



Color. The whole upper surface chocolate-brown, with numerous dusky or black spots sur- 

 rounded by lighter margins. Occasionally these spots are confluent : they are rather more 

 numerous on the female : in young males, they are less distinct. Beneath dusky white, with 

 light brown in the centre and faint pink on the edges. When the thick coat of mucus is 

 scraped off, numerous dark points are visible over the whole surface. The abdominal cavity 

 small, and nearly filled by the enormous liver. The stomach of one was filled with the 

 Cancer irroratus. 



The Spotted Ray is caught with the hook on our sandy coast, in company with the Cod. 

 It does not appear to be uncommon. It is also found on the coast of Massachusetts. 



Fauna — Part 4. 47 



