Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 313 



Orbit about 1.7 times as long as distance between orbits and 2.2 times as long as 

 spiracle. Distance between first pair of gill openings about 1.9 times as great as distance 

 between exposed nostrils, about 1.2 times between fifth gills; first gills about 1.3 times 

 as long as fifth gills and 21 "/o as long as breadth of mouth. Nasal curtain, as well as 

 expanded outer (posterior) margin of nostril, fringed. Mouth arched only a little for- 

 ward in juveniles and probably in females, perhaps more strongly so in adult males. 



Teeth 46 in upper jaw; those of juvenile males (probably those of females also) 

 oval, rounded, without cusp, close-set in quincunx; those of mature males not seen. 



First and second dorsals about alike in size and shape, the anterior margins slop- 

 ing and weakly convex, the posterior margins slightly recurved; dorsal fins separated 

 by a short but definite interspace with one thorn. Caudal membrane posterior to second 

 dorsal about 30 "/o as long as base of first dorsal. Pelvics deeply concave outwardly, 

 with three conspicuous scallops at base of concavity; anterior margin about 60 "/q as 

 long as distance from pelvic origin to rear tip; anterior lobe fleshy with rounded tip; 

 posterior lobe weakly and evenly convex outwardly, rear tip narrowly blunted, reaching 

 about Vs of distance from axils of pelvics toward first dorsal fin. Claspers of mature 

 males not seen. 



Rostral cartilage extends a little more than 2/3 (69-70 %) of distance from front 

 of cranium toward tip of snout. Anterior radials of pectorals extend nearly to level of 

 tip of snout. 



Color. Upper surface (after many years in alcohol) brownish gray; disc and an- 

 terior part of tail thickly freckled with darker brown dots; posterior part of tail with 

 similar dots aggregated in two indistinct crossbars; also an additional more definite 

 dark bar crossing tail and anterior part of each dorsal fin; caudal membrane sooty. 

 Lower surface uniformly pale yellowish. 



Size. A male (only specimen known), 215 mm long, is juvenile, its claspers reach- 

 ing only about halfway along inner margins of pelvics. Size at maturity not known. 



Habits. The depth of capture (231 fath.) of the only recorded specimen suggests 

 that this is a deep-water species, but nothing definite is known of its habits. 



Range. So far known only from the slope off northeastern Yucatan, in 23 1 fathoms. 1* 



Reference : 



Breviraja yucatanensis Bigelow and Schroeder, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 103 (7), 1950: 402 (descr., ill., 

 ofF Yucatin). 



Genus Cruriraja Bigelow and Schroeder 1948 



Cruriraja Bigelow and Schroeder, J. Mar. Res., 7 (3), 1948: 549; type species, C. atlantis Bigelow and Schroe- 

 der. OfF north coast of Cuba. 



Generic Synonyms: 



Raia (in part) von Bonde and Swart, Fish. Mar. biol. Surv. S. Afr., Rep. 3 (1922), Spec. Rep. 5, 1924: 9, 11, 



pi. 21, fig. 2, pi. 22, fig. I, for R. parcomaculata and R. durbanensis von Bonde and Swart 1924. South 



Africa. Not Raja Linnaeus 1758. 



18. Albatross Sta. 2359, Lat. 2o°i9' N, Long. 87^04' W, January 29, 1885. 



