FAMILY, VI— MTLIOBATID^. 743 



Gonns, 2 — ^tobatis, Miill. and Eenle. 



Stoasodon, Cantor. 



Head distinct from dish : snout with a soft prolongation, internally supported by jhi ^^.f^^'^J^'''' 

 usually distina, each forming a long flap, or such may he unUed ^nto one quadrangrdar flj- Jfth '^^fj^l 

 hroarl/flat, with the lower dental laminee projecting beyond the upper. Taxi very long and wUp-hke : dorsal M 

 present near its base, and a serrated spine posterior to it. 



Geographical distributinn. — Seas of the tropics. 



^tobatis narinari, Plate CXCIV, fig. 4. 



Narinari, Marcgr. pp. 175, 176 ; Willughby, p. 66, tab. c. i, fig. 5. 



Baja narinari, Euplirasen, Vet. Ak. Nya Handl. 1790, xi, p. 217 ; Bl. Schn. p. 361. 



Bajaflagellmn, Bl. Schn. p. 361, tab. Isxni. 



Baja, Russell, Fisli. Vizag. i, p. 5, and Eel tenkee, pi. viii. 



Earn oMttato, Shaw, Gen. Zool. V, 2, p. 28.5, pi. 142. ^„, * -d • -^ - in 



MylioLtis narinari, Cuv. Regne. An. ; Benn. in Life of RaffleB, p. 694; Agass. Poiss. Foss. in, pi. D. 



ySfoftaiis 7w*ca, Swainson, Fishes, 11, p. 321. 



Baja quinqueaculeata, Quoyand Gaim. Voy. Uran. p. 200 pi. xlni, fag. 6. r>„'^^ TT,-„+ 



A-itobatis narinari, Miill. and Henle, p. 179; Bleek. Flag, p 87, and Beng^p 82 ; Dume^l, Hist. 

 N Poiss. i, p. 641 ; Day, Fish. Malabar, p. 280 ; Giinther, Catal. viii, p. 492 ; K unz. F. Roth. Meer 1871, p^b85. 



lMsflagelh:m.,m\\. andHeJile,p. 180 ; Richards. Ich. China, p. 198; Blyth, Joui-n. As. Soc. Beng. 

 1860, p. 37 ; Dumeril, 1. c. p. 642. . -.r. n o ^. .7.^ 



Myliobatis eeltenkee, Riipp. N. W. Fisch, p. 70, tab. 19, fig. 3 (teeth). 



GowioJah's ^ageZZwm, Agass. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. VI p. 385. , „ . , 



Goniobatismacroptera, McClell. Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. 1841 i, p. 60, pl- 2, tig- 1. 



Stoasodon narinari, Cant. Mai. Fish. p. 434; Jerdon, M. J. L. and Sc. 18ol, p. 149. _ n-.r^ih.. 



Aefohatis latirostris, -DnmevH, Arch. Mus. x, p. 242, pi. 20, or Hist. Nat. Poiss. i, p. 643; Gunther, 

 Trans. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 491. ... 



Aetobatis laticeps. Gill, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New York, vui, p. 137. 



Eel-tenkee, Tel. : Currooway tirihl, Tarn. : Ba-ta-cJiann-dah, Andam. 



The comparative proportions of this fish vary greatly with age : the distance from the month to the 

 anus equals about half the width of the disk. Nasal valves in some examples separate, each formmg a long 

 flap,* ii other examples the valves unite and forming a quadrangular flap the ower edge of which is frmged : 

 thi spiracle wider than orbit. Teeth-hro<,d, flat, and in a single row, those m the lower jaw niay be angularly bent 

 or nearly straight : the lower dental plate pro.iects beyond that in the upper jaw. Fms-ihe dorsa arises opposite 

 the base or centre of the ventral, the latter fin being about three times as long a^s broad Tail three or four 

 times as long as the body, triangular in shape as far as the spine, which is serrated and situated just behind the 

 termination of the dorsal fin : beyond the spLe the tail is compressed ; m tins as well as m some other species 

 there is occasionally a second spine on the caudal a little behind the root of the first. ScaZ..-body smooth. 

 (7o?cmrs-grayish-olive, sometimes greenish-olive or leaden-gray above, and usual y covered from beyond the 

 occiput with numerous dirty-whitt or bluish spots edged with black: abdominal surface white : tail black 

 Iris golden-green, teeth greenish-yellow. In the immature the back is of a deep leaden colour, and the spots 

 hardly ^pparent^^^^ Sea, seas and estuaries of India to the Malay Archipelago, and beyond. Eaten by the 

 natives. Is captured to upwards of 6 feet in width. 



Genus, 3 — Rhinoptera, Kuhl. 



Mylorina and Micro^nesus, GiU. 



Head distinct from the dish, but with a pair of rayed appendages on the lower edge of the snout. Nasal 

 valves confluent, forming a broad flap. Teeth broad, flat, in five or more roivs, the central ones being the broadest. 

 Tail tvhip-lihe, with a dorsal fin and a serrated spine posterior to it. 



Geographical distribution. — Tropical and contiguous seas. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. Bhinovtera adspersa. Nine series of teeth in upper jaw, and seven in the lower. Seas of India. 



2. Bhinoptera Javanica. Seven rows of teeth in each jaw, the three central series being much the 

 longest. Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



* The protruding angnlar portion of the dental lamina; of the lower jaw appears liable to be broken off, and it is in such 

 examples that it seems that the notch in the united nasal valves is wanting. 



