272 



Shark and CoiJipany 



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Round Sting ray ( Urolophus jamaicensis ) . 



Courtesy, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology 



Bay to Panama Bay. It is one of about 19 Urolophidae members known 

 in the Pacific. 



The principal Atlantic Round Sting ray (Urolophus jamaicensis Cu- 

 vier, 1817) is very similar to U. halleri. It is known to grow to about 

 12 to 13 inches wide and about 26 inches long. U. jamaicensis is usu- 

 ally found in shallow waters with muddy or sandy bottoms. It gets its 

 species name from its prevalence in Jamaican waters, where fishermen 

 are said to dread it particularly. It is common in the Caribbean— West 

 Indian area, among the Florida Keys, along both coasts of southern Flor- 

 ida, and it has been reported as far north as North Carolina. 



Family Myliobatidae—KAGi.E Rays 

 The lozenge-shaped Eagle rays, a large family that has members in 

 tropical and temperate seas throughout the world, bear venomous stings 

 in their long, whip-like tails. They are large— some reaching 7 to 8 feet 

 in breadth and weighing up to 800 pounds. 



The Eagle ray of the western Atlantic (Myliobatis freminvilli Le- 

 sueur, 1824) is known to grow to about 3 feet in width. It is found from 

 Cape Cod to Brazil, appearing in the northern end of its range in the 

 warmer months. 



A similar Eagle ray (Myliobatis calif ornicus Gill, 1865), more com- 

 monly called the Bat ray or the Bat Sting ray, is found along the Ameri- 

 can Pacific Coast from Oregon to and into the Gulf of California. The 



