Ad. s. Jensen: The Selachians of Greenland. 



25 



In addition, I was able to determine, that Vanhoffen's North Greenland rays 

 agree in every respect with Raja hyperhorea. By comparison with the Greenland speci- 

 mens of our Museum only the specimen from Jakobshavn differed somewhat, the white 

 colour on the belly had a comparatively large extension, but in this regard it is exceeded 

 by specimens from other seas (depth.s of the Norwegian Sea), in which the white ground- 

 colour of the under surface is just as widely distributed as or greater than the dark 

 colour. ^ 



For the sake of completeness it may further be mentioned, that Pietschmann notes 

 casually, that the Vienna Museum possesses two specimens of Raja hyperborea from 

 "North-west Greenland" i). 



Thus from West Greenland we know 23 specimens of Raja hyperborea. Of these 

 22 have been taken on the stretch from Jakobshavn to Upernivik, at the following piaces: 

 Jakobshavn, Kekertak, Umanak Fjord (various piaces from Ikerasak to Igdlorsuit) 

 and Upernivik. The 

 species must there- 

 fore be considered to 

 be common in deep 

 water at Danish 



North Greenland, 

 from the northern 

 end of Disko Bay 

 andnorthwards^). On 

 the other hånd, a 

 single specimen has 

 been taken right 

 down in the sounds at the south of Greenland, at Nuk in Ilua Fjord (60°12' N,). 



At the northern Danish West Greenland a number of egg-capsules of Raja hyper- 

 borea have also been taken^) (cf. fig. 6). The data of the localities are given here, 

 with information regarding the lengtli of the capsules (in the middle, thus without 

 the threads): 



Fig. 6. Egg-case of Raja hyperborea, reduced C',-/}, from Jakobshavn. The 



longitudinal striation indicates the layer of golden, silk-like hairs in which 



the capsule is enveloped. 



^) V. Pietschmann: Ichthyologische Ergebnisse einer Reise ins Barentsmeer ; Annalen des 

 K. K. Naturhist. Hofmuseums, Bd. 22, Nr. 4, 1907-08 (p. 296). 



-) It has been shown under Raja radiata, that this so common species at South Greenland 

 has not been found farther north than in Disko Bay at 69°17' N. As the southernmost locality 

 for Raja hyperborea, Jakobshavn, lies in Disko Bay at 69°13'N , it seems as if these two common 

 Greenland species of rays each inhabits its own part of the west coast and only touch each other's 

 region of distribution in Disko Bay (as also right down at Ilua Fjord at the turning point to 

 East Greenland, where R. hyperborea again reappears). 



^) Some have been taken from the stomachs of other fishes (Greenland Shark), which had 

 swallowed them, others were taken up from the sea-bottom by the tra\vl of the "Tjalfe". 



4 



