19 



Named in memory of Capt. Moresby, of the Indian Navy, whose surveys 

 (1834-38) in the seas where this curious fish is found are known to all readers 

 of Darwin's ' Coral-Reefs.' 



Family Rajidce. 

 Raja, (Artedi) Cuvier. 



Raja, Cuvier, Regne Animal, Poissons, p. 375. 



Raja and Vraptera, Miiller and Henle, Plagiostomen, pp. 132, 155. 



Raja, Giinther Catalogue of Fishes, VIII. 455. 



Raja, Jordan and Evermann, Fishes of North and Middle America (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 47, 1896) 



I. p. 66 : Goode and Bean, Oceanic Ichthyology, p. 24. 



" Tail very distinct from the disk, which is of rhombic shape, with a fold on 

 " each side. Body generally rough or with spines, rarely entirely smooth. Two 

 " dorsal fins, on the tail, without spine. Tail with a rudimentary caudal fin, or 

 " without caudal. Each ventral fin divided into two by a deep notch. Nasal 

 " valves separated in the middle, where they are without a free margin. Teeth 

 " obtuse or pointed. Pectoral fins not extending forward to the extremity of the 

 " snout. Sexes differing in the form of the teeth and in the dorsal spines." 



(Giinther). 



Synopsis of the Indian species of Raja. 



I. Snout short, slightly exsert : upper surface of disk covered with 

 prickles, in addition to definitely placed spines : a single row of 

 large spines on middle line of back and tail : dorsal fins very close 

 together ... ... ... ... ... R. maniillidens. 



II. Snout much exsert : upper surface of disk with definitely placed 

 spines, but with few or no prickles : dorsal fins well separated : — 



1. Snout, measured from mouth, about two-sevenths the 

 greatest breadth of the disk in length : a short row of spines 



in the middle line of the nape, and several rows on the tail ... R. Powelli. 



2. Snout, measured from mouth, about a third the greatest 

 breadth of the disk in length : a single spine in the middle line 



of the nape: a single row of spines on the tail ... ... R. Johannis-Davisi. 



7. Maja maniillidens, Alcock. 



Raja mamillidens, Alcock, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. November 1889, p. 380: Illustrations op the Zoology of 

 the Investigator, Fishes, plate VIII, fig. 1. 



The disk, including the ventral fins, is about half the total length and its 

 breadth is about the same : it is rhomboidal in shape, with the angles rounded : 

 the anterior margin of the pectoral fin is slightly and broadly sinuous. 



The snout is short, broad, and only slightly exsert, its length, measured 

 from the mouth or from the eye, is not quite a fourth the greatest breadth 

 of the disk, and is a little more than the distance between the outer margins of 

 the nostrils. 



