14 



2. Raja radiata, Donov. 1808. 



t Raja fvllonica. Fabl'. Fauna Groenl. No. 87. \>. l'2.'i il780). 

 TIaja radiata, Donov. Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish.; vol. .'i, tab. 114 (180S). 



Localit. • fra NorcUi.-Exp. Tanafiord i Fiumarken, 

 samt Havet melleiu Beeren Eiland og Spitsbergen. 



Alm. Bemærkninger. Ingen Porskjel kunde opdages 

 mellem Individerne fra disse Localiteter, og andre å-a Nor- 

 ges sj-dlige Fjorde. Antallet af de lange Terne nedad 

 Ryggen fra Skulderpartiet til Dorsalerne varierede mellem 

 12 og U. ■ 



Ved en tidligere Lejlighed^ har jeg gjort ojmiærksom 

 paa. at uaar der i Diagnoserne for denne Art 025gives, 

 at den mangler Torn mellem de 2 Dorsaler, er dette unøj- 

 agtigt. idet et ikke ubet3-deligt Antal Individer besidde en 

 saadan. medens vistuok Flertallet mangler den. Blandt et 

 stort Antal Individer, som jeg i 1876 og 1878 havde Lej- 

 ligbed til at undersøge i Porsangerfjorden i Finmarken, 

 kavde idetmiudste en ' Fjerdepart en saadan Torn mellem 

 Dorsalerne. Af de under Nordbavs-Expeditionen erholdte 

 8 Individer fandtes denne Torn ogsaa netop hos de 2. 



Føde. I ^'eutrikelen af et af Individerne fra Taua- 

 fjorden fandtes flere Amphipoder, hvoriblandt kunde nogen- 

 lunde sikkert kjendes Arterne Anonyx lagena, Kr., og Ace- 

 ros phyUonyx. (M. Sårs). 



Udbredelse. Raja radiata har en storre geographisk 

 Udbredelse. end nogen anden af de europæiske Arter, og 

 forekommer lige fra de engelske Kyster gjenném Ndrdsøen 

 og Kattegat ' til den sydlige Del af Østersoen. fremdeles 

 langs hele Norges A'estkyst op til Finmarken, i hvis Fjorde 

 den er yderst talrig; derfra gaar den i Ishavet op til 

 Spitsbergen, hvor den .bidindtil ikke var iagttaget. men 

 hvor den forekommer lige op til ^e nordligste Dele. ligesom 

 den gjennem Faber er kjendt fi-a Island. Endelig opføres 

 den og beskrives allerede af Fabricius i 1780 fra Grønland 

 linder Navn af Raja fiilhnica (Fauna Groenl. No. 87). 

 Ved de amerikanske Kyster gaar den mod Syd idetmiudste 

 til New-England under -10 " N. B. 



. • 2. Raja radiata, Donov. 1808. 



t Ba/a fvllonim, Fabr. Fauna Groenl. No. 87, p. 12.'i il7S0.) 

 ■ Baja radiata, Dbnnv. Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., vol. Ti, tab. 114 1 1808). 



Locality (North Atl. Exped.): — The Tana Fjord, in 

 Finmark, aud the sea between Beeren Eiland and Spitzbergen. 



General Remarks. — Xo difference could be detected 

 between the individuals taken in these localities and speci- 

 mens obtained from the southern fjords of Norway. The 

 number of long spinies extending down the dorsal ridge 

 was from 12 to 14. 



On a former occasion ^ I called attention to the 

 fact that, contrary to tlie diagnosis of this species given 

 by some ichthyologists, a spine between the two dorsals 

 does occur in a considerable number of individuals, though 

 wanting in most. Opportunity was afforded me in 1876 

 and 1878 of examining numerous individuals from the 

 Porsanger Fjord, in Finmark, and one-fourth had a 

 spine between the dorsals. (3f the 8 examples obtained 

 on the North Atlantic Expedition, this spine occurred 

 in 2. 



Food. — In the stomach of one of the specimens 

 fi-om the Tana Fjord were divers Amphipo.ds. amongst 

 which Anonyx lagena, Kr.. and Aceros phyllonyx. (M. Sars). 

 could alone be determined with comparative 'certainty. 



Distribution. — Raja radiata (Starry Ray) has a 

 wider geographical range than any other of the European 

 species; it is met with on the British coast, in the North 

 Sea. the Cattegat, and the South-Baltic; aloug the entire 

 line of the coast of Norway, as far north as Finmark, 

 being exceedingly numerous in the fjords of that province; 

 from thence its range extends to the Arctic Ocean as far 

 north as Spitzbergen (where it had not previously been 

 observed); according to Faber, it occurs, too, on the 

 coast of Iceland ; and the species was mentioned and described 

 (as Raja Jhlhnica) by Fabricius, as far back as 1780. 

 among the fishes of Greenland. The range of this species 

 on the North American coast certainly extends as far south 

 a« the New England ' States, in lat, 40" N, 



'. Forh. Vid. Selsk. t'hra. 1879, No. 1, p. 105. 



' Forh. Vid. Selsk.- Chra. 187i». No. 1, p. 105. 



