Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 185 



is known from Delaware Bay, the coast of Maryland and northern Virginia, and it 

 has been reported from deep water off Cape Lookout, North Carolina."* We have 

 examined specimens "» that were trawled at stations scattered along the continental 

 shelf southward to the offing of Chesapeake Bay in depths of 14—44 fathoms. In 

 Chesapeake Bay it has been reported from Tangier Sound in the lower third of the 

 Bay and at Hampton and Cape Charles, Virginia, near the mouth. 



Owing to its preference for shallow water (p. 183), the majority of the population 

 of i?. erinacea is confined to a narrow coastline belt perhaps not more than 20—25 miles 

 wide between the offings of Delaware Bay and New York, 10-12 miles wide along 

 the southern Long Island shore, 40-60 miles wide off southern Massachusetts (in- 

 cluding Nantucket Shoals) and widening to 60-80 miles or more to include the shoaler 

 parts of Georges Bank (p. 184), and about 15-30 miles wide (measured from the 

 nearest land) around the shores of the Gulf of Maine in general."' 



No information is available as to its presence or absence on the offshore Nova 

 Scotian Banks. However, there are considerable areas shoaler than 20—30 fathoms on 

 Sable Island Bank, and similar smaller areas exist on Browns and Banquereau Banks 

 which may offer a suitable habitat for it unless the temperature there falls too low for 

 its welfare during part of the year (see discussion, p. 183). 



Synonyms and References: 



Raid eglantiera^'^'' Lesueur, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 4 (i), 1824: 103 (descr. of Philad. specimen ident. as 

 R. erinacea by dermal armature and small size of male with large claspers). 



Raja erinaceus'^'^^ Mitchill, Amer. J. Sci., 9, 1825: 290 (descr., ill., New Jersey; type specimen sent to Paris); 

 DeKay, Zool. N. Y., 4, 1842: 372, pi. 78, fig. 246 (ill., New Jersey); Storer, Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts 

 Sci., N. S. 2, 1846: 512; Synopsis Fish. N. Amer., 1846: 259, 260 (diagn., size. New Jersey); Perley, 

 Cat. Fish. New Brunsw. and Nova Scotia, isted., 1851: 39 (Grand Manan I.); Rep. Fish. Bay of 

 Fundy, 1851: 155 (Grand Manan I.); Gill, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., Addend., 1861: 61 (listed, 

 Atlant. Coast N. Amer.); Lyman, 6th Rep. Mass. Comm. inl. Fish., 1872: 54, 57 (south. Mass., Conn.); 

 Baird, Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1871-1872), j, 1873: 826 (listed. Woods Hole); Gill, Rep. U. S. 

 Comm. Fish. (1871-1872), J, 1873: 812 (listed, C. Cod to Florida); Garman, Proc. Boston Soc. nat. 

 Hist., 77, 1874: 176 (descr., Mass. Bay and mouth of Connecticut R.); Goode and Bean, Bull. Essex 

 Inst., II, 1879: 28 (Mass., but R.ocellata also included); Bean, Proc. U. S. nat. Mus., J, 1880: 115 

 (Mass. and Conn.); Jordan and Gilbert, Bull. U. S. nat. Mus., 16, 1883: 40 (descr., size, nos., range); 

 Bean, Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1882), 10, 1884: 343 (listed. Woods Hole); Rathbun, Proc. U. S. nat. 

 Mus., 7, 1885: 485 (parasites. Woods Hole); Jordan, Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1885), 13, Append. E, 

 1887: 799(listed,N. Atlant. states); Ryder, Bull. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1886), 6, 1887: 8 (early embryoL); 

 Linton, Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1886), 1889: 460, 462 (parasites); Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1887), 

 1891: 766, 840 (parasites); Goode and Bean, Smithson. Contr. KnowL, JO (Publ. 981), 1895: 28; 



144. It was credited to South Carolina by True (List Vert. Anim. S. Carolina, in Handb. S. Carolina, 1883: 261), but 

 seemingly this harks back to the fact that it was confused with K. eglanteria by Lesueur (J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 

 4, 1824: 103, 105). Nor do we find any factual basis for Gill's (Rep. LT. S. Comm. Fish. [1871-1872], 7, 1873 : 812) 

 report of it as occurring "to Florida." 



145. Some in the U. S. National Museum, others collected during the cruises of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries steamer 

 Albatross IL 



146. Twenty-two trawl hauls, made by the Atlantis in August 1936 in the deeper troughs farther out in the Gulf of 

 Maine, did not yield a single K. erinacea, though three other species {K. senta, R. radiata, and R. lacvis) were taken. 



147. Obvious misspelling for eglanteria. 



148. The spelling was corrected to "erinacea" by Storer (1846) who, with some authors, has preferred the spelling Rata 

 to Raja. 



