Storer’s Synopsis of the Fishes of North America. 515 
History.’’ Mr. Ayres afterwards found an entire specimen at Brookhaven, Long Island, 
and called it M. acuta; this name, however, he withdrew, and allowed mine the priority. 
As, however, he has fully described from a recent specimen what I merely named from frag- 
ments of one, I feel that his name should be retained, and mine erased from the list. The 
remarks of my lamented friend, Rev. Mr. Linsley, of Connecticut, contained in his ‘‘ Cata- 
logue of the Fishes of Connecticut,’’ upon the impropriety of considering the number of 
caudal spines as specific characters, are very just, and conclusively show the impropriety of 
my specific name. 
GENUS IV. AETOBATIS, Miter. 
Have no marginal teeth ; the jaws support only a single row of broad dental 
plates. In the upper jaw, these plates are arched, with the convexity turned 
forwards ; in the lower jaw, they pass straight across, with the extremities 
only a little bent backwards. ‘The upper jaw is shorter and more curved than 
the lower one, the anterior extremity of which projects beyond the upper jaw, 
and can be used like a spade in digging out shell-fish, &c., from the sandy 
bottoms frequented by these Rays. 
1. Aétobatis guttata, SHaw. 
Subrhomboidal. Snout spatuliform. Above light brown, with regularly distributed, nu- 
merous yellowish-white ocelli; beneath white. ‘The tail, which is nearly four times as long 
as the body, is small at its origin, and terminates in a mere thread. In the dried specimen, 
a deep concavity upon the top of the head, between and back of the eyes, dilated anteriorly. 
Adult very large. 
Length of body, 17 inches ; of tail, posterior to dorsal fin, 45 inches. Greatest width of 
body, across pectorals, 20 inches. 
Porto Rico, Srorer. 
Raia guttata, SHaw’s Gen. Zodl., v. p. 295, pl. 142. 
GENUS V. RHINOPTERA, Konut. 
Have the muzzle divided into two short lobes, under which are two similar 
ones. 
1. Rhinoptera quadriloba, Lesueur. 
Body rhomboidal, elevated along the dorsal line. Olive-brown above, beneath white. 
Pectorals acute. Tail slender, longer than the body. 
Length, 3 feet. Width, 2 feet. 
