446 RAIID.E. 



the sea off that coast, but threw away the body. It was above 

 three feet long, entirely covered with hard obtuse tubercles, 

 extremely slender and taper, and destitute of a fin at the 

 end. The tail of a fish received from Sicily, and believed 

 to have been taken from a specimen of the Eagle Ray, which 

 is not uncommon in some parts of the Mediterranean, cor- 

 responded with the descrij^tion given by Mr. Travis. 



This fish is called Eagle Ray from the wing-like form 

 of the pectoral fins ; and Whip Ray, from the long, slen- 

 der, and flexible character of its tail. The outline near 

 the figure of the fish represents the teeth of the upper and 

 under jaw ; each jaw forms part of a circle ; and from a par- 

 ticular rolling motion, added to the crushing power of these 

 teeth, the fish has acquired the additional name of the 

 Miller. 



As doubts may reasonably be entertained, the examina- 

 tion having been restricted to a fragment, whether the Eagle 

 Ray has really been taken on our coast, the figure of this 

 fish, as well as that which forms the subject of the vignette, 

 are here inserted to invite the attention of observers on the 

 coast. 



To William Thompson, Esq. of Belfast, one of the Vice 

 Presidents of the Natural History Society of that town, 

 I am indebted for many valuable and interesting notices of 

 the fishes of the Irish lakes and coast which are distributed 

 in various parts of this work. In 1835, Mr. Thompson 

 made the following communication to the Zoological Society 

 of London, which is published in the Proceedings for that 

 year, at page 78. 



" Cephahptera, Dumeril. — A fish of this singular genus, 

 taken about five years ago on the southern coast of Ireland, 

 and thence sent to the Royal Society of Dublin, is at pre- 



