CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



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Fig. 15. The butterfly sting ray Pfcrot'latca luanitorata. Adult male. 



This ray is common south of Point Coneepcion, frequenting the 

 shallow tide flats of sheltered bays. It reaches a width of 4^ feet. Its 

 sting is short and the small movement it is able to give its tail makes 

 it one of the least dangerous of the sting rays. 



5. THE EAGLE RAYS 



{Family .T^tohatidw) . 



The Bat Fish or Eagle Ray, Sometimes Called California Sting Ray 

 (Myliobatis californicus). 



This is the only representative of its family on our coast. The head 

 stands above the disk at each side, and the eyes are on the side of the 

 head close to the edge of the disk. The pectorals fins are sharp at the 

 outer angles, and a single dorsal fin is present just in front of the sting. 

 The tail is long, slender, and whip-like. The skin is perfectly smooth 

 without spines or prickles. The teeth are flat and pavement-like, resem- 

 1)ling a tile floor. It is a uniform dark slate color above and white 

 below. 



This sting ray reaches a length of 3 feet and is common south of 

 San Francisco. It is very destructive to oysters, crushing them between 

 its wide flat teeth. Its depredations in this way have caused the owners 

 of oyster beds in California to protect their property by fences of 

 closely set poles driven into the mud around the beds. 



6. THE SEA DEVILS 



(Family Maniidw) . 

 The Sea Devil (Manta birostris). 



This is a gigantic ray that may be known at once by a pair of pro- 

 jecting arms from under the front part of the head. The body is 

 shaped much as in the bat fish {Myliobatus) with a long whip-like tail 

 and a single dorsal fin. The teeth are small and in many series. 



3—35303 



