TIGERS OF THE DEEP 



Another ferocious member of the shark group is the 

 sting ray, called in some places the fire flaire, on account 

 of the bright red colour of the flesh when the fish is cut 

 open. These are some of the most speciahzed members of 

 the entire group. The pectoral fins are continued right 

 round the extremity of the muzzle, so that they form the 

 entire margin of the fish. In the centre of its very wide 

 disc the head and body are elevated. The typical genus 

 contains no fewer than twenty-five species of sting rays, 

 but the term should be restricted to those species with 

 armed tails. These tails are long, flexible and whip-like, 

 and even if they had no stings they could inflict a sharp 

 vicious blow like the cut of a horse-whip. But the 

 destructive efficiency of the weapon is increased by its 

 projecting spine, extremely sharp at the point and 

 double-edged: each edge being furnished with a series 

 of razor-keen teeth. When the sting ray is attacked or 

 even disturbed it can use this frightful weapon with such 

 strength and rapidity that the flesh of its victim can be 

 lashed to ribbons. Owing to the fact that aggravated 

 inflammation often follows wounds caused by the sting 

 ray in hot countries, the notion prevails among native 

 peoples that the creature's tail is suppHed with poison, 

 and some modern reference works perpetuate this error. 

 But there is no poisonous substance in the tail — any in- 

 flammation in wounds caused by it is due to other 

 factors, such as unsterilized dressings. 



Some of the savage inhabitants of the Pacific Islands 

 have used the sting ray's barb in the past as a barb for 

 their own weapons. Affixed to a shaft it makes one of the 

 cruellest weapons ever fashioned by man. For its chief 

 merit in the eyes of the savages who have used it has 

 not merely been the terrible wounds it inflicts but the 

 fact that the jagged blade is practically certain to snap 

 asunder at the point where it enters the body of a foe, 

 leaving the barb in the wound : its peculiar shape ensur- 

 ing that it is virtually impossible to get it out again. 



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