i6o 



Our Food Mollusks 



crushing them with strong jaws that are covered with 

 short, hard teeth. The list of oyster enemies in this 

 group of fishes includes the common skate ; the sting ray, 

 or " stingaree," as it is usually called on the shore, a 

 form that bears a long, dagger-like spine on the base of 

 the tail; and it is supposed, also, the "devil ray,'' an 



enormous creature having 

 a width of eighteen or 

 twenty feet, and weigh- 

 ing, in some cases, as 

 much as twelve hundred 

 pounds. The latter, how- 

 ever, has been reported as 

 an oyster enemy only 

 from Port Eades, Louisi- 

 ana, where it is known as 

 the " stone cracker " — 

 though there is probably 

 not a stone large enough 

 to crack within a hundred 

 miles of Port Eades. 



Oystermen believe that 

 crabs destroy young oys- 

 ters, and this is probably 

 true in some cases. The 

 pinch of the claws of 

 many crabs is powerful 

 enough to break the shell 

 of small oysters. It is observed that they gather in 

 crowds where oysters are being planted, apparently at- 

 tracted by broken individuals. It is possible that they 

 also attack the uninjured young, though accurate ob- 

 servations on this point seem to be wanting. 



Fig. 42. — The sting- ray (Dasyatis 

 sabina). Outline of a figure in 

 Dr. Jordan's " Fishes." 



