THE SHARP-NOSED BAY. 427 



south coast of Devon, in one season, besides what are con- 

 signed to the deep immediately as useless. The reason of 

 this vast consumption of coarse fish in catching crabs, is, 

 that they are extremely nice in the choice of their food, and 

 will not enter the pots when the bait is the least tainted. 

 In this particular the crab differs from the lobster, which 

 cannot be taken but by bait in a state of putridity. The 

 skate is very various, and keeps to the bottom on rocky 

 ground ; it takes a baited hook with eagerness, and feeds 

 on almost any animal substance it meets with, but flat fish 

 and Crustacea seem its principal food. " Mr Couch has 

 known five different species of fish, besides Crustacea taken 

 from the stomach of a single individual." The principal 

 characters which distinguish this species of skate, are, the 

 snout sharp, conic, the lateral margins not parallel ; the 

 skin on the upper surface of the body rough, having a gra- 

 nulated feel when the hand is passed over the pectorals ; 

 no spines round any part of the orbits, or along the dorsal 

 ridge of the body ; the lateral spines at the base of the tail, 

 when present, are perfectly straight, their points directed 

 outwards, and not downwards as those on the central ridge ; 

 the under surface of the body is never white, but of a dusky 

 greyish-blue marked with a number of dark specks. In 

 young individuals the upper surface is smooth to the touch; 

 and the lateral caudal spines are wanting. 



Raia oxyrhynchus.* — The Sharp-nosed Ray. 



Specific Characters. — Body, on the upper surface, smooth, on the 

 under surface of a pure white ; no spines in front of the eyes. 



Description. — " In the length of the body, this species sometimes 

 exceeds six feet, and weighs nearly five hundred pounds. The back 

 is quite smooth of a plain brown colour ; the under surface white. 



• Raia oxyrhynchus, Mont., Yarr., Jen., Penn. White Skate, Burton 

 Skate. 



