Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 307 



two females, 187 and 288 mm long (including the type), from offing of Jacksonville, 

 Florida, Lat. 30°2i' N, Long. 79°55' W, and Lat. 30°58' N, Long. 79°34' W, in 290 

 fathoms, collected by the Atlantis, in Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology; also 

 four females, probably this species, the largest about 220 mm long, taken on the con- 

 tinental slope in the offings of North Carolina and Delaware Bay, in 727 and 258 

 fathoms, in U. S. National Museum.'* 



Distinctive Characters. The presence of three or more irregular rows of large and 

 conspicuous thorns along the midbelt of its disc marks this species off from all other 

 western Atlantic soft-nosed Skates (genera Breviraja^ Psammohatis) except E. yucatanen- 

 sis. It is separable from the latter in that it has more conspicuous thorns, its snout anterior 

 to the orbits is not more than about twice as long as the distance between the orbits, its 

 first and second dorsal fins are confluent at the base, and the upper surface of its disc 

 is not closely freckled with small dark dots. 



Description. Proportional dimensions in per cent of total length. Females, 187 and 

 288 mm long (type), from the offing of Jacksonville, Florida (Harv. Mus. Comp. Zool., 

 Nos. 36369, 36373). 



Disc: extreme breadth 47.7, 50.8; length 41.2, 42.8. 



Snout length: in front of orbits 8.0, 8.0; in front of mouth 9.1, 10.2. 



Orbits: horizontal diameter C1.6, 4.8; distance between 3.2, 3.6. 



Spiracles: length 3.7, 3.4; distance between 6.9, 7.0. 



Mouth: breadth 6.4, 7.8. 



Exposed Nostrils: distance between inner ends 5.3, 6.0. 



Gill openings: lengths, ist 1.6, 1.4; 3rd 1.6, 1.4; 5th 1.5, 1.2; distance between 

 inner ends, ist 14.2, 15.9; 5th 8.3, 7.9. 



First dorsal fin: vertical height 1.9, 1.4; length of base 5.4, 5.8. 



Second dorsal fin: vertical height 1.6, 1.5; length of base 5.4, 5.5. 



Pelvics: anterior margin 10.7, 11.6. 



Distance: from tip of snout to center of cloaca 39.0, 42.3; from center of cloaca 

 to 1st dorsal 48.1, 44.4; to tip of tail 61.0, 57.7; from rear end of 2nd 

 dorsal base to tip of caudal 2.1, 2.0. 



Interspace between: ist and 2nd dorsals 0.0, 0.0. 



Disc about 1.2-1.3 times as broad as long, obtusely rounded in front; tip of snout 

 blunt at apex and projecting little if at all; maximum anterior angle in front of spiracles 

 about 135-140°; anterior margins convex to level of orbit, thence nearly straight to 

 broadly rounded outer corners, the contour continuing in an unbroken arc around the 

 convex posterior margin and broadly rounded posterior corners to axils of pectorals. 

 Axis of greatest breadth 70-75 "/o of distance back from tip of snout toward axils of 

 pectorals. Tail moderately robust, decreasing in relative length with growth; distance 

 from center of cloaca to first dorsal about 1.3 times as great as distance from center of 

 cloaca to tip of snout on young, about i.i times on larger specimens; extreme length 



14. Albatross Sts. 2624 and 2730; these specimens are in poor condition. 



20* 



