FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLAOTDS AND ADJACENT SEAS 397 



6*. Tail moderate or short. 



e\ Caudal fin present. 



f. Tail with serrated spine ITrolophus 



f. Tail without serrated spine Anacanthobatis 



el No caudal fin Urolophoides 



a-. Gymnurinae. Disli broader than long; tail short Gymnura 



Genus TAENIURA MuUer and Henle 



Taeniura MtiiXEni and Hknle, Sitz. Ber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1837, p. 117. (Atypic: 



Type, Tryyon omnium (Iray) ; Arch. Naturg., 1S37, p. 400. (Type, Trm/ott 



oniatiini Gray, virtually orthotypic. ) 

 Tnjffon (not Cuvier) Geoffroy Saint-Hi laire, Descr. Egypte, Poiss., pi. 25, 1S17. 



(Type, Raja lymma ForskSl, monotypic.) 

 Alexandrinum Molin, Sitz. Ber. Akad. Wiss. Wien., math.-nat. Kl., vol. 42, 



p. 579, 1861 (Atypic: Type, Alexandrinum molini Zigno). — Zigno, Reale 



Inst. Veneto, vol. 8, p. 2901, 1874. (Type, Alexandrinum molini Z\gno= Raja 



muricata Volta, 1796.) 

 Diseotrygon Fowler, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1910, p. 468. (Type, 



Diseobatis marginipinnis Maclay and Macleay, orthotypic.) 

 Taeniurops Garman, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 36, p. 399, 1913. (Type, 



Taeniura meyeni Miiller and Henle.) 



Disk rounded. Tail longer than body, with spine above, in front 

 of middle of length. No rostral cartilage. Mouth small, with 

 papillae, velum fringed. Teeth small, tessellate, grooved trans- 

 versely. Front nasal valves confluent, with free lateral and hind 

 edges, median attachment narrow. Cranium prominent, fontanel 

 broad and rounded in front of skull, narrow between orbits. No 

 dorsal. Subcaudal rayless below terminal end of tail. Pectorals 

 meet in front of skull. Ventrals elongate, front rays longer than 

 posterior. 



The following species, insufficiently described, appears to approach 

 Taeniura meyeni: 



TAENIURA GRABATA (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire) 



Trygon grabatus Gobftroy Saint-Hilaire, Descr. Egypte, Poiss., vol. 1, p. 218, 

 pi. 25, fig.s. 1-2, 1809; p. 232, 1827 (type locality: Red Sea). 



Trygon. grabata Gijnther, Cat. Fishes British Mus., vol. 8, p. 484, 1870 (copied). 



Taeniura grabata Muller and Henle, Syst. Besclir. Plagiostomen, p. 172, 1841 

 (Alexandria). — Gr.vy, List fish British Museum, p. 12."), 1851 (copied). 



Taeniura grabatus Dum^ril, Hist. Nat. Elasmobr., vol. 1, p. 621, 1865 (com- 

 piled). 



Head to hind spiracle edge 5i/f) in total length. Snout 1% in 

 head to hind spiracle edge, front edge as seen above broadly convex ; 

 eye 13, 9 in snout, 5% in interorbital ; interorbital 21/4 in head to 

 hind spiracle edge. Spiracle large, close behind eye, 3 times long as 

 eye and interspiracle space 214 q in head. 



Skin smooth, except few asperites along side of tail before caudal 

 spine and back to its tip (shown on figure). 



