20 Mindeskrift for J. Steenstrup. XXX. 



boundary, and to the south it goes down to the northern United States. It occurs at Ice- 

 land and Spitzbergen, and in Europe it is distributed from the White Sea to the British 

 Isles, as also the northern and western coasts of France, where however it is rare. It 

 is specially numerous at southern West Greenland, Iceland and Norway. It is probably 

 most abundant at depths of 30 — 50 fm., but it goes bntli higher up and deeper down 

 (sometimes to 460 fm,). 



Raja hypevhorea (^ollett. 



Raja hyperborea Collett, Forhandl. Vidensk. Selsk. Chria. 1878, No. 14, p. 1 ; The Norwegian 

 North-Atlantic Exped., Fishes, 1880, p. 9, pi. 1, fig. 1-2; Gunther, Rep. Scient. Res. Voy. Challenger, 

 Zoology, XXII, 1887, p. 8, pi. 5; F. A. Smitt, Skandinaviens Fiskar, II, 1895, p. 1111, figs. 317- 

 18; LuTKEN, The Danish Ingolf-Exped., II, 1, 1898, p. 2; Collett, Arch. f. Math, og Naturv., 

 XXV, 1903, Nr. 2, p. 7; Collett, Rep. Norw. Fishery and Marine- 1 nvestig., II, No. 3, 1905, p. 10. 

 - Raja borea Garman, Rep. Expl. West Coasts Mexico etc. (Albatross 1891) 1899, p. 24. - Raja 

 radiala Vanhoffen (non Donovan), Gronland-Exped. d. Gesellsch. f. Erdkunde, II, 1, 1897, p. 127. 



Diagnosis. 



The length of the snout, measured to a cross-line through centre of eyes, 

 amounts in general to more than the half, sometimes slightly less than the half 

 part of the breadth of the disc likewise measured along a line across the eyes and is 2'/i;— 

 2*/.T times as large as the least breadth of the interorliit. Of tlie total length the greatest 

 breadth of the disc amounts to 70.6 — 81.6 % and the lenglit of the tail from the cloaca 

 39.5 — 45.8 %. The ventral surface is quite smooth. The dorsal surface is richly provided 

 with larger and smaller spines. Of large spines we find 1 (rarely 2) pre- and 2 postorbital, 

 3 (sometimes 2, very seldom 4) scapular spines and along the mid line of the body and 

 tail 22 — 31 spines, further, frequently 1 (seldom 2) between the dorsal fins. The teeth 

 do not form a pavement, being fairly long and thin with relatively small base. The 

 colour of the upper side is dark blue-gray or gray-brown sometimes with small, light 

 or dark, rounded spots. The under surface is spotted, but very variable, from white 

 with symmetrically arranged dark spots to dark with symmetrically arranged white 

 spots. Length: female 860 mm, male 765 mm. 



Raja hiperborea was originally founded by Collett on a specimen obtained by the 

 Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition W. of Spitzbergen at a depth of 459 fm. Later 

 the British Museum received 5 specimens taken by the "Triton" in the Faeroe Channel; 

 they were described by Gunther (1. c). W'hilst neither of these authors expresses any 

 doubt as to the correctness of the species, F. A. Smitt on the other hand writes in "Scan- 

 dinavian Fishes", that it still remains undecided, whether this ray has to be regarded 

 as an independent species or merely as a variety of Raja radiata, from which it is mainly 

 distinguished by a larger number of spines in tli(> mid line of the back and tail as also 

 by the under surface being spotted. 



