Stakks: Ichtiivological Survey ahout San Jtan Islands. 175 



at \ari(Uis i)lacfs, l)ul in tlic same posiiioii on liotli sidrs of tlic I)ody. 

 A Nt'llow cross-bar on caudal. The olhcr specimens from the other 

 localities are i)lain brown on the bcxly. 



In the collection of the Uni\ersity of \\'ashini;ton is a young female 

 skate, four and one-half inches in length, which is referable to this 

 species. The disk is nearl\- circular, and the snout is re[)resented by 

 a small lul)ercle in a notch in the front of the disk, but it scarcely 

 extends outward to even with the anterior edge of the disk. The 

 surface of the body is sparsely covered with long fine prickles. There 

 is a \er\- definite row of enlarged spines down the middle of the back 

 and tail. There is a white spot ringed with dusky behind the middle 

 of each pectoral; a pair of very conspicuous white spots on back of 

 tail a little in front of middle of tail nearly meeting medially, and two 

 other pairs much less conspicuous spaced between these and the dorsals. 



This specimen agrees very well with the species described by 

 Garman as Raja kincaidi (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 1908, Vol. LI, 

 Xo. 9, p. 254). A series of somewhat larger specimens in the Stanford 

 University collection makes it evident that it is the young of Raja 

 stcllidata. 



Dr. Evermann (Bull. Bur. Fish., XXVI, p. 229) concludes that 

 Raja stellulata, Raja binocidata and Raja rhina are all one and the 

 same species. The material at hand certainly does not bear out this 

 supposition. Though Raja rJmia and Raja binoculata are very easily 

 distinct from each other (as here shown under their respective names) 

 Raja stellulata stands farther from them than they do from each other. 



A specimen of Raja stellulata twenty-two inches in length has claspers 

 just a quarterof this length (fiveand one-half inches), while in a specimen 

 of Raja rhina only an inch shorter in length the claspers do not yet 

 reach to the posterior edge of the ventrals, and in Raja binoculata 

 of similar size they are still shorter. The pectoral rays of Raja stel- 

 lulata extend anteriorly until they nearly meet near the tip of the snout^ 

 being separated by a space not greater than the diameter of the eye. 

 In the other two species the pectoral rays are separated anteriorly 

 by a wide translucent area at least three times the width of the inter- 

 orbital space. The rostral cartilage of Raja stellulata is so delicate 

 that it can scarcely be distinguished without dissection, while in the 

 other two species the cartilage is very strong, being easily felt and seen 

 through the skin. In Raja stellulata the body is everywhere covered 

 with prickles in both sexes, and the interorbital space is covered with 



