400 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Taeniura melanospila Gunthek, Cat. Fish. British Mus., vol. 8, p. 4S4, 1870 

 (compiled). — Klunzinger, Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, vol. 21, p. 682, 1871 

 (Red Sea).— Day, Fishes of ludia, pt. 4, p. 740, 1878 (off Coromandel).— 

 Meteb, Anal. Soc. Espan. Hist. Nat., Madrid, vol. 14, p. 49, 1885 (North 

 Celebes and Macassar).— Day, Fauna British India, Fishes, vol. 1, p. 56, 

 1889.— BouLBNGER. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1892, p. 136 (Muscat).— 

 ZuGMAYEB, Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., math.-phys. Kl., vol. 26, p. 8, 1913 

 (Oman). — Garman, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 36, p. 400, 1913 (copied). 



Discobatis marginipinnis Maclay and Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South 

 Wales, vol. 10, p. 676, pi. 46, figs. 7-15, 1886 (type locality: Pacific Ocean 

 near Admiralty Islands; on specimen with mutilated tail from Sorry or 

 Wild Island). 



Discotrygon marginipinnis Fowleb, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1910, 

 p. 462 (on Maclay and Macleay). 



Depth 13 to 131/2 to end of tail; head 6; disk width 1\\q to li/g 

 in its length, which 1% in tail. Snout ll^ to 11/2 in head, front 

 profile as seen from above convex; eye 5 to 514, 31/2 in snout, 3^4 to 

 31/2 in interorbital ; dentary width 31/3 to 3% in head, I14 in inter- 

 narial width; teeth in 15 to 24 rows in jaws, convex, rhombic; nos- 

 trils simple deep pits, edges entire; interorbital 1% to 2% in head, 

 depressed medianly, each eye bulging little upward. Gill openings 

 moderate, equidistant, last smallest. Spiracles large, deep, larger 

 than eye, edges entire. 



Skin smooth in young, variably larger examples roughened with 

 some fine asperities near middle of disk. On trunk median row of 

 small vertebral tubercles. Tail with 1 to 2 spines in large examples 

 of which posterior longer or about long as snout. 



No dorsal; anal as wide fold inferiorly on tail, its depth greater 

 than tail depth ; pectorals form subcircular disk, outer edges broadly 

 convex; ventrals partly triangular elongate, ends in rather wide 

 points. 



Back gray-brown, disk paler marginally and including pectorals 

 and ventrals, marked with small dark blue or slate blue spots, larg- 

 est on head medially and about pectoral bases but becoming numer- 

 ous and smaller as if crowded about outer portions of disk. With 

 age spots greatly more numerous, especially submarginal small ones. 

 None of spots extend on tail, which has blue superolateral longi- 

 tudinal line each side. Under surface of body whitish. Anal dusky 

 marginally, brownish basally. 



Bed Sea, Arabia, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malay Pen- 

 insula, Singapore, East Indies, Philippines, Siam, Queensland, Me- 

 lanesia, Polynesia. A handsome species easily known by its ornate 

 coloration. Garman describes the body as smooth, though with age 

 my examples show some roughness. 



8432. Cebu market. March 24, 1909. Length, 440 mm. 



5187. Jolo market. March 7, 1908. Length, 360 mm. to end of broken tail, 



A1412. Tampotana Island. December 31, 1909. Length, 472 mm. 



