Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 297 



Rostral cartilage triangular, extending about 70—75 "/q of the distance from front 

 of cranium toward tip of snout. 



Color. Upper surface of disc pale brown, with darker brown spots and blotches 

 vaguely outlined and varying widely in size, number and distribution, most conspicuous 

 on small specimens; very young ones usually with a dark curved bar extending from 

 behind orbit to shoulder region and with a narrow crescentic darker band (concavity 

 forward) crossing base of tail; outer posterior part of each pectoral of some adults with 

 one dark blotch much larger than the others; anterior lobes of pelvics whitish above, 

 the posterior lobe of same brownish hue as disc, sometimes with a few irregular dark 

 spots; tail pale brown, usually with 5—6 crossbars vaguely outlined, more conspicuous 

 on large specimens than on small, the two more posterior ones crossing the two dorsal 

 fins; anterior part of caudal membrane blackish. Lower surface pale yellowish without 

 dark markings. 



Size. The smallest specimens seen (about 68 mm long) apparently were newly 

 hatched. Males mature (as shown by their claspers) at a length of 180-210 mm. This, 

 with the fact that the largest specimen (a female) among 70 was only 221 mm long, 

 indicates that this Skate does not grow to a length greater than about 300 mm. 



Developmental Stages. Egg cases have not been seen. Newly hatched specimens 

 closely resemble their parents. 



Habits. We know only that this is a deep-water species, so far recorded only from 

 235-405 fathoms. 



Range. Known only off the north central coast of Cuba. 



Reference : 



Breviraja cubensis Bigelow and Schroeder, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., JOJ (7), 1950: 394 (descr., ills., 

 depth, off N. Central Cuba). 



Breviraja plutonia (Garman) 1 8 8 i 

 Figures 62 (middle right), 67, 68 



Study Material. Forty-two specimens, males and females, 132—253 mm long; one 

 (the type) from the offing of Savannah, Georgia, Lat. 3i°57' N, Long. 78° 19' W, in 

 333 fathoms; the remainder trawled off Jacksonville, Florida, Lat. 30°2i'N, Long. 

 19° SS' ^1 ^^ 230—250 fathoms, Feb. 24, 1940 (Atlantis Station 3779); all in the 

 Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. 



Distinctive Characters. B. plutonia falls with B. sinus-mexicanus, B. atripinna and 

 B. cubensis in the long-tailed division of the genus. But it is easily separable from B. sinus- 

 mexicanus by the anterior contour of its disc (cf. Fig. 67 with 69, 70). It is separated 

 from B. atripinna by this same feature as well as by the fact that its first and second 

 dorsals are confluent, and by the variegated color pattern on the upper surface of its 

 disc. It resembles B. cubensis closely in shape of disc and in dermal armature, but the 

 anterior lobes of its pelvics are considerably longer relatively; the thorns on the anterior 

 part of its tail and on its disc are larger and more conspicuous, usually with 2—4 on 



