SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 45 



This species is common from North CaroUna southward, occasionally stra} - 

 ing to New York. It feeds largely on shellfish. The tail is used as a whip, and 

 the barbed spine is sometimes driven into the hands or feet of fishermen, inflict- 

 ing a very painful and troublesome wound, from septic infection. A leather 

 shoe or rubber boot is readily pierced by the spine. At Beaufort this ray is 

 abundant in summer. Dr. Yarrow noted there a southward migration in the 

 latter part of October. Dr. Kendall observed many caught in beach seines at 

 Cape Lookout in 1891. 



Genus PTEROPLATEA MuUer & Henle. Butterfly Rays. 



Body wider than long, flat, the anterior angle obtuse, the lateral angles acute; 

 tail slender, shorter than body, wdth or without a small barbed spine and without 

 any fin. Fish of rather large size, viviparous. One species on the Atlantic 

 coast, two on the Pacific. (Pteroplatea, broad-finned.) 



20. PTEROPLATEA MACLURA (LeSueur). 

 "Skate"; Butterfly Ray; Sand Skate. 



Raja maclura LeSueur, Journal Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, i, 14, 1817; Rhode Island. 

 Pteroplatea maclura. Yarrow, 1877, 216; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 386; Beaufort. Jordan, 1886, 26; 



Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 84; Beaufort. Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 86. Wilson, 1900, 355; Beaufort. 



Linton, 1905, 348; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Body about twice as wide as long; anterior edge of pectorals slightly con- 

 cave; snout slightly projecting; tail only .33 length of body, spine usually (always?) lacking; 

 skin smooth. Color: above olive brown, marbled and speckled, a row of light spots on front 

 of body, tail with 4 dark blotches. (Named after William Maclure, founder of the Philadel- 

 phia Academy of Sciences.) 



This common fish of the North Carolina coast ranges from New York to 

 South America. It is numerous at Beaufort. The great width of its wing-like 

 pectoral fins has given it the name "butterfly ray". The body reaches a length 

 of 4 feet. 



The species is viviparous, and the normal number of young produced 

 appears to be two. On July 29, 1902, a specimen 14.5 inches long and 26.5 inches 

 wide was delivered of two young at the Beaufort laboratory, and on August 11, 

 1903, another specimen gave birth to two young; the young in both cases were 6 

 inches wide. 



Numerous specimens examined at Beaufort by Professor Linton in July and 

 August contained fish, shrimp, or razor clams. 



Family MYLIOBATID^. The Eagle Rays. 



Large, viviparous sting-rays easily recognizable by the very broad body, 

 long, whip-like tail, and pectoral fins which extend forward only to sides of head 

 and reappear in a greatly modified form on the snout. The ventral fins are 

 short and rounded. The teeth are large, paired, and adapted for crushing. The 

 tail bears a single dorsal fin at its base and a large serrated spine capable of 



