524. ELASMOBEANCHIATE FISHES— J')!U>AX AM) FnWLER. 663 



Family XXI. MYLIOBATID^E. 



EAGLE RAYS. 



)i.sk broad; the pectoral fi)i8 not contiTined to the end of the snout, 

 cea.sing on the sides of the head and reapj)earing in front of the 

 ut as 1 or '1 fleshy protuberances (cephalic tins), which are sup- 

 ted by tin rays. Tail very long- and slender, whip like, with a 

 ^le dorsal iin near its root, behind which is usually a sti'ong, 

 rorsely serrated spine. Nasal valves forming a rectanguhir flap, 

 h the posterior margin free, attached by a f renum to the upper 

 Skull less depressed than usual among rays, its surface raised 

 uhat the eves and spiracles are lateral in position. Teeth hexangu- 

 , large, fiat tessellated, the middle ones usually broader than the 

 ers. Ovoviviparous. Skin smooth; no differentiated spines on 

 pectorals in the males, the sexes being similar. Yentrals not 

 [arginate. Large sting rays; inhal)iting warm seas, feeding chiefly 

 mollusks, which they crush wdth their large, grinding teeth. 



'eeth in several series, the middle series very broad. 

 Muzzle entire Myliohatw, 42 



42. MYLIOBATIS Dumeril. 



Miiliohndx Dumeril in Cuvier, Regne Animal, 1st ed., II, 1817, p. 137 (aquila). 

 I HolorJiiiius Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862,]). 331 {vei^pertilio—californicHs). 



Disk bi'oad. the outer angles acute. Cephalic tins, forming a soft, 

 ivex appendage in front of snout. Jaws about equal. Median 

 ith very broad, much broader than long in the adult, proportionally 

 (rower in the young. Several series of narrower teeth on each side 

 the median series; teeth changing considerably with age. Free 

 ye of the nasal valve not deeply emarginate. Tail very long and 

 nder, with a small dorsal tin, and one or more serrated spines, 

 in smooth, or nearly so. Size large. In all warm seas. 

 'jxvXog^ grmder; fiariz^ I'ay.) 



Disk two-thirds as Ions: as broad tnhijci, 52. 



Disk twice as broad as long nteuJtoJi, 53. 



52. MYLIOBATIS TOBIJEI Bleeker. 



TOBI-EI (KITE RAY, OR FLYING RAY). 



Mijlhhatis aqutla Schlegel, Fauna Japoiiit-a, 1847, p. 310, i)l. fXLii; Nagasaki 



(not of Linnaeus). 

 M 1/1 lohalis tobijti Bleeker, Vt^rh. Bat. Gen., XXVI, 1854, Nieuwe Nalez. .lapan, 



p. 130, Nagasaki. — Dumeril, Elasmobranches, 1870, p. 640 (after Bleeker). 

 Myhohatia conmta Gt'NTiiER, Cat. Fish, VIII, 1870, p. 490; Japan.— Isiiikawa, 



Prel. Cat 1897. p 60, Matsushima. 



Head 3 in hody (from t\\) of snout to base of ventrals l)ohind): ^nout 

 n head, eye 6 in uiteiorbital ^pace; spiracles 2i; width of mouth 2^. 



