518 



RAT A. 



ning along each side of the row of large ones on the 

 back ; the three 'rows being continued on the tail, 

 which has also a pectoral row on each side. In these 

 spinous parts, or bosses, these are not very unlike 

 those upon the thornback, only they are not so pro- 

 minent, but the basal parts, or bucklers, instead of 

 being simple ovals likelhese, have fcheir margins with 

 radiated points like stars ; the Binder side is of a clear 

 and uniform white colour ; the eyes are moderately 

 large, well defended by lids, besides the spines ; and 

 the vent-holes and nostrils are also rathA large, and 

 have membranous valves ; the mouth is small; and 

 though many specimens have not been examined, the 

 probability is that the lateral and interior angles of 

 the teeth are produced and pointed in the mature 

 individuals of both sexes. 



We are not aware that any specimens have been 

 met with on the south or even the west coast, or in- 

 deed on the east coast of England, except in the 

 extreme north. In the "Fauna Groenlandica" of 

 Othon Fabricius, published in 1790, there is a de- 

 scription of R.fullonica, which appears to answer to 

 the specimens that have been met with in the British 

 seas ; and from this it would appear that the fish is 

 better known in the Greenland seas than in those 

 of Britain. In consulting the work of Fabricius, 

 much stress must not be laid upon names, as he often 

 erred in their application. But his descriptions 

 are remarkably precise and excellent, and may be 

 implicitly depended on in all cases where they agree 

 with a specimen. 



The fact of being found on the north and east coasts 

 of Britain, and not on the south and west, is a'corro- 

 boration of the starry rays being a fish of the northern 

 seas, because part of the "set" of the current on our 

 north-east shores is from those seas, whereas the set of 

 the current to and along our eastern coasts is from the 

 Atlantic. Even in the north, however, nothing appears 

 to be known of the habits of the fish, so that it either 

 keeps much out at sea, or it is rare in any locality 

 where it occurs. It is said to be more common on the 

 coasts of Denmark and the north-west of Germany 

 than with us ; but it is not of value in an economical 

 point of view in any locality. 



THE BORDERED RAY (R. marginata) is a rare 

 species as well as the immediately preceding one ; 

 but it comes from the opposite direction, as any 

 specimens of it that have been found have been on 

 the south and south-west coasts. It occurs more fre- 

 quently on the French coast ; and it is abundant in 

 the Mediterranean'well known to the fishermen there, 

 and much esteemed as food. In the form of its disc 

 it is not unlike the Homelyn ray ; and like that it has 

 no spines on the body, but those on the tail are more 

 developed than in the Homelyn. The mouth is mode- 

 rately large ; the teeth numerous and pointed ; the 

 nostrils about midway between the corners of the 

 mouth and the edges of the pectorals ; the eyes and 

 vent-holes large, with a single spine at each of the 

 former ; the snout and anterior edges of the pectorals 

 roughened with small tubercles and a few little spines, 

 but all the rest of the body quite smooth ; the tail is 

 about the length of the body, rather stout, and a little 

 flattened ; the spines in the three rows upon it 

 formidable and curved backwards, the two fins near 

 its extremity very small, and the terminal one a 

 mere rudiment ; the ventral fins are of considerable 

 size, divided into two lobes, and notched or toothed 

 in their margins ; the upper part is reddish brown, 



with very obscure spots of darker ; and the under part 

 white in the middle, but marked all round with a 

 border of dark reddish brown, broader at the external 

 angles of the pectorals, and nearly or altogether 

 obliterated at the snout. The south and southern 

 part of the west coast of England are 'the places 

 where this rare stranger is most likelv to be met 

 with, yet some instances of its occurrence on the 

 east coast are mentioned, though only on the southern 

 part. 



THE SMALL-EYED RAY (R. micro(;ellata) is an- 

 other very rare species, found only as a straggler on 

 the southern coasts. The specimens that have oc- 

 curred have been of considerable size, though not 

 large. They are remarkable for the smalluess of 

 the eyes and the beauty of the colours on the dorsal 

 surface of the disc ; the ground colour of this surface 

 is clear light grey ; a white line passes down the 

 dorsal ridge ; and there are arches of the same colour 

 near the sides of the disc ; those on the front sides 

 begin by small points a little in advance of the eye, 

 and proceed toward the distal angle of the pectorals 

 in curves, with their concavity toward the margin, 

 and the one next the centre of the disc ; there are 

 three of them on each side ; although the marginal 

 one is smaller and more obscure than the rest. From 

 the angles of the pectorals at which these terminate, 

 or rather vanish, three others begin on eacli side, 

 curving inwards like , the others, having the outer 

 ones small and obscure, and the central ones termi- 

 nating near the middle of the posterior lobe of the 

 dorsal. < These arches form the disc- into a set of 

 regular figures, becoming more concave in the sides, 

 and sharper in the angles, as they approach the 

 central one ; that one still occupies the greater pijrt 

 of the disc, and is marked with whitish spots, us 

 . well as divided longitudinally by the pale Stripe on 

 the dorsal line ; the eyes, as has been hinted, are 

 very small, but the vent-holes are large, and show 

 much more conspicuous than the eyes ; the upper 

 part of the body is rough with granulations, but there 

 are no spines upon it, except a row of small ones on 

 the lower two-thirds of the back, which are also con- 

 tinued on (he tail to the fins ; and there is another 

 row of very small ones upon each side of the tail ; the 

 tail has also very narrow membranous margins on the 

 sides, and the two fins are small rounded lobes, with- 

 out even a vestige of a terminal fin; the under sur- 

 face is pure white, and so full of mucous follicles, that 

 their openings appear as if they had been punctured 

 all over with a pin ; the mftuth is rather large, and the 

 teeth very much resemble those of the thornback. 

 This species appears to deposit its eggs early in the 

 spring, or atleast to begin doing so at that time, whereas 

 the more northerly species, which are found in num- 

 bers on the British coasts, do not begin till the season 

 is pretty far advanced. 



THE LONG-NOSED SKATE (R. shagrinea). The 

 English name of this species is given to it on account 

 of the great length of the snout, which is the most 

 remarkable feature in the shape of its disc. That 

 disc is nearly triangular, only the two anterior sides 

 are a little concave in their outlines, and the pos- 

 terior or third one consisting of the two lobes of the 

 pectorals, which have no cuticle at their termination 

 backwards, is considerably convex ; the snout, besides 

 being long, is very much pointed, and its distance in 

 advance of the opening of the mouth is about one- 

 third the length of the body, exclusive of the tail ; 



