Jorda?i aiuf Ei'ermami. — Fishes of North America. 77 



d. Spiracles routidod, with entire edges, (not fringed). Tetronarce,* 49. 



cc. Spiracles placed close behind the eyes, not fringed, but with the margin sometimes 



tuberculate. Narcink, 50. 



!)&. Ventral flns united ; spiracles close to the eyes, not fringed. Discopyge, 51. 



49. TETRONARCE, Gill. 



Ttlronarcc, Gill, Ann. Lye. Nat. Ilist. N. Y., 1861, viii, :j87, (occt'deniafe). 

 Gyviiiolorpedo, Fritsch, Arch. Anat. Phys., 1886, 365, {occidenlalis). 



Electric rays with the disk very broad, abruptly contracted at the tail; 

 2 dorsal fins; caudal fin well developed; ventral fins large, separate; 

 spiracles large, rounded, with entire (not fringed) edges, placed behind 

 the eyes ; mouth small ; teeth pointed : skin perfectly smooth. Species 

 about 4, 2 European, the others American, (rtrpu-, four — four-cornered; 

 vupKJ], an old name of Tetronarce narce, meaning numbness, equivalent to 

 Torpedo. ) 



a. Color nearly uniform black, rarely spotted ; first dorsal over middle of ventrals. 



0CCIDENTAM.S, 110. 



(I'l Color dark brown, usually spotted with black ; first dorsal inserted behind middle of ven- 

 trals. CALIFORNICA, 111. 



110. TETRONARCE OCCIDENT ALIS, (Storer). 



(Crampfish ; Torpedo ; Numbfish.) 



First dorsal more than twice as large as second, its insertion over mid- 

 dle of the ventrals ; spiracles not fringed, their edges smooth. Color 

 almost uniform black, with obscure darker spots ; beneath white. L. 2 

 to 5 feet ; breadth f of length, the disk very blunt or almost emarginate 

 in front. Atlantic coast of United States, Cape Cod to Cuba ; not very 

 common. A large species, allied to the European T. nohiliatia, said to 

 reach a weight of 200 pounds. According to the figures, T. noUIiana has 

 the second dorsal smaller and inserted farther back, (occidentalis, western. ) 



Torpedo occidenialis, Stoeer, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, 1843, 165, Massachusetts. 

 Torpedo occidenlalis, Storer, Fishes Mass., 247, 1867. 

 Torpedo occidenlalis, Jordan & Gilbert, Synopsis, 39, 1883. 



111. TETROXARCE CALIFORNICA, (Ayres). 

 (California Torpedo.) 



Color very dark brown, with small round black spots, which are 

 sometimes obsolete. Eye small; spiracles at a distance behind them 

 more than twice eye and more than length of spiracle ; edges of spira- 

 cles not fringed; breadth of mouth about equal to its distance from tip 

 of snout; teeth small, sharp. First dorsal more than twice second, half 

 of it opposite ventrals. A large species, reaching a length of about 3 

 feet. Coast of California, on sandy shores, scarce, rarely seen except 

 about San Francisco and Santa Cruz; not noticed south of Monterey. 

 Perhaps not different from T. occidentalis. 



* In the Old World genus Narcohatiis, the typical genus of the family, the edges of the spiracles 

 are fringed with papilhi;. The synonymy of this genus is : 



Torpedti, Di'MERiL, Zoiil. Anal., 102, 1806. (torpeilo) ; name preoccupied for an electric catfish. 

 XarciibulKs, Blainville, Journ. Phys., 1815, 26i, (}iiaciduliis, galnmi, etc.). 

 Narcacion, (Klein), Bi.EEKKit, Noilerl. Tid^k^. Dierk. iii, 171, (torpedo). 

 Fimbriotorpedo, Fritsch, Arch. Anat. Phys. 1886, d65,{marmvrala = torpedo). 



