THE STORY OF THE DEVIL-FISH^ 

 By THEODORE GILL 



One of the most remarkable of animals is the great Ray, most 

 widely known as Devil-fish, but which bears also several other 

 names. 



Devil-fish is a name by no means restricted to any one of the Rays, 

 for it is well known in connection with the gigantic Cuttlefishes and 

 is also used locally in England for the Angler {Lophius piscatorius), 

 and in California for the Gray whale {Rhachianectes glaucus). 

 xA.mong the Rays the name is applied not only to all of the same 

 family as the great fish, but also, in some places (for instance. North 

 Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico), to species of Eagle-rays. Sea- 

 devil may be considered to be a natural variant of the same name, 

 but it has also been used for the same animals as Devil-fish and even 

 for those of another family, the species of the Sharks known as 

 Squatina. 



Vampire originated in the form "Oceanic A'ampyrc" as a selective 

 name and was given by Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, in 1823, as the 

 popular name for his Ccphaloptenis vampyrus. He claimed that 

 "this fish being perhaps the largest of the Rays, as the vampyre is of 

 the bats, or vespertilios, the name vampyrus may be attached." The 

 name has somehow been taken up and found limited currency in cer- 

 tain localities where the fish abounds. Thus C. F. Holder' has re- 

 corded that it is in use in southern Florida. When, during a night 

 on the water about Garden Key, he heard "a rushing, swishing sound ; 

 then a clap as of thunder," a negro boatman exclaimed "Vampa fish, 

 sah," and later alluded to it as "Sea Vampa" or collectively as 

 "Vampas." 



^ Every well-known fish student is more or less frequently asked some ques- 

 tion or questions about the Devil-fish. Not infrequently the student is at a loss 

 for an answer. The requisite information may have been published, but to 

 obtain it perhaps hundreds of articles may have to be examined. After a 

 search through such articles the present paper has been compiled and will 

 furnish answers to many of the questions that may be propounded. It will at 

 least serve as a basis for investigation and a repertory of what has been ascer- 

 tained or thought to be facts. 



' Big Game at Sea, 1908, pp. 2, 3, 4. 



155 



