32 



Haivaiian Fishes 



Drawn from Jordan & Evermann 



This fish is ovoviviparous and 

 hatches its young within the body of 

 the mother. It is reported that the 

 mother leaps out of the water at the 

 time the young are born and that the 

 young are thrown from the mother's 

 body while she is leaping. Mr. James 

 Gilbert of Kamehameha Schools re- 

 ported that a skate leaped into a 

 boat in which he was riding and 

 shortly thereafter gave birth to young measuring from six to ten inches 

 in width. 



The flesh of this ray is white and reported to be palatable. Accounts 

 say that it is eaten in the West Indies, India, and in the Hawaiian Islands. 

 In Hawaii, it is reported to have been forbidden to women in olden times; 

 other accounts say that this ray was not eaten by the Hawaiians. Honolulu 

 market men today refuse to buy it. 



During 1940, Mr. N. Nakamoto, the fisherman for the Waikiki 

 Aquarium speared a fifty pound individual in Kewalo Basin in Honolulu. 

 The ray, when pulled ashore, exhibited a nubbin in place of its tail. It 

 was later discovered that a year or two previous Mr. Floyd Dwyer of 

 Honolulu captured a small ray in the same vicinity, cut the tail off to 

 insure his safety, and thereafter liberated the sea beast. 



This ray is widely distributed in the warmer regions of the Pacific 

 Ocean. It is found from Guam to Hawaii and in Samoa, Tahiti, and the 

 Solomon Islands. It also occurs in Panama Bay and in the West Indies. 



THE SEA DEVIL FAMILY 



Also known as the Devil Ray or Devil-Fish Family 



1 1 Family Mohulidae (Mantidae. Cephalopteridae) 



The sea devils include the largest of the ray fishes. They are reported 

 to reach twenty feet in width and to reach weights variously reported at 

 from 1,250 to 3,000 or 4,000 pounds. They reach an enormous size in 

 warm tropical seas and are among the very largest of the fishes. The 

 body is flat in shape with wide, wing-like fins, and a long whip-like tail. 

 This tail has a single dorsal fin at its base and may or may not have a 

 serrated spine. A pair of fleshy projections from the fins protrude forward 



