FISHES OP NEW YORK 59 



teeth someTimes iiiueli enlarged, sometimes not mncli larger 

 than the onter teeth; tail long, whiplike, with a small dorsal 

 spine behind the dorsal fin which is at the base of the tail; 

 ventral fins oblong, trnncated behind. 



5:1 Rhinoptera bonasus (Antchill) 

 Cow-nosed Ray 

 Raja bouastis Mitchill. Traus. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 479, 1815. 

 Rhiiioptrm quadhloha De Kay, X. Y. Fauna, Fislies, 375, pi. OG, fig-. 

 217, 1842; GuNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 494, 1870: Jordax iV- 

 Gilbert, Bull, lb', U. S. Nat. Mus. 51, 1883. 

 Rhinoptera boiiasits Jordan & Evermann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 90. 1890; 

 Smith. Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII. 90, 18^8. 



The length of disk eqnals two thirds of its width; its anterior 

 borders almost straight, posterior undulated; pectorals acutely 

 produced; muzzle deeply emarginate; mouth wide; nostrils mid- 

 way between mouth and tip of. snout; spiracles large, longer 

 than eye; teeth in seven rows in eaeh jaw, the median teeth 

 more than four times as broad as long, the others gradually 

 diminishing in size outward; tail very slender, as long as the 

 body; a small dorsal fin ;iT base of tail and a slender, serrate 

 s])ine behind it; skin smooth except a few protuberances on the 

 toi> of the head. Color olive brown above; beneath white. Cape 

 Cod to Forida; not rare. 



This species is now rarely seen in Gravesend bay, w^here it 

 was at one time v(n'y common in the autumn. When Mitchill 

 wn-ote of the fishes of New* York (1815) he stated that the cow'- 

 nosed ray visits the coast, usually about September, in numer- 

 ous shoals, entering the bay and ranging very extensively over 

 the flats where the soft clam lives. 



These shellfish he is supposed to devour; for a shoal of cow- 

 noses roots up the salt water flats as completely as a drove of 

 hogs would do. I have seen the water in violent agitation when 

 these fishes were at work in the bottom. They render it so 

 muddy that they are concealed from sight. Frequently, how- 

 ever, they rise to the top and may be distinctly observed. I 

 have seen them swim near the surface in clear water. They then 

 support and projjel themselves in their element by their large 

 flaps as a crow or other bird, with slowly moving wings, passes 

 through the air. They may be said to fly rather than to swim. 

 A full grown individual weighs about 100 pounds. 



