THE HOMELYN RAY. 41 



easily taken when the hooks are baited with Pilchards or Herrings, though one kept in captivity by 

 Sir John Dalyell would feed on nothing but Whiting. Couch records that in the stomach of one 

 animal he found a Fishing Frog that weighed six pounds, in another two large Plaice, a Lobster, a 

 couple of Mackerel, a Thornback Kay eighteen inches long, and half a Salmon. The colour of the 

 upper part of the body is dusky grey or mottled, and its colour has caused it to be known in Scot- 

 land in some places as the Grey Skate, and in others as the Blue Skate. At Lyme Regis it is called 

 the Tinker. The females are always called Maids. This species is frequently infested by the Fish 

 Leech, Hirudo muricata. 



THE LONG-NOSED SKATE.* 



The Long-nosed Skate has the snout prolonged to a sharp point far in advance of the mouth, 

 The anterior outlines of the body are concave. Its usual size, according to Couch, is four feet seven 

 inches long, with a breadth of a little over three feet ; the tail measures sixteen inches. The body is 

 of a lead colour, greatly flattened and smooth. On the under side it has dark spots similar to those 

 of the Common Skate. The skin is smooth, but the tail is rough and armed on each border with a 

 row of large recurved spines, but is without any spines in the median line. The teeth are sharp, but 

 closely packed together on a semicircular curved surface of the bone, and in the upper jaw form 

 forty-six rows. In the young the teeth in both sexes are flat, but as the male acquires age his 

 teeth towards the centre of the mouth become elevated, keeled, and pointed. The females are 

 larger than the males. The eggs are deposited in the latter part of the spring or summer in the 

 usual purse-like cases. In London Skates are generally brought to market in autumn and 

 winter, since the flesh becomes soft and woolly during the breeding season. The species is caught in 

 deep water, and is always violent on the hook, but a large number are taken in trawl-nets. It ranges 

 all round the shores of the North of Europe. 



THE BORDERED RAY.f 



In this fine species the anterior outlines of the body are deeply undulated, and the snout 

 contracts rapidly into a slender forward process. The posterior outlines of the body are relatively 

 short, so as to give the disc a triangular appearance. The body is smooth above, but the tail has a 

 median row of spines, and there are stronger lateral rows on each side. This species is very 

 much thicker and heavier than the Common Skate, and is frequently eight feet long, and a little 

 broader. The colour is grey above and white below. The claspers of the male are long and 

 stout. The adult animal frequents deep water, and is taken only in summer and autumn. It is in 

 great demand in France, and during Lent the French fishermen come to Plymouth and the south 

 coast of England to purchase this species, which is covered with wet sand to keep it fresh during the 

 run back to France. In Scotland it is known as the White Skate ; in Cornwall as the Burton 

 Skate. It has been taken as far south as Madeira, but is characteristic of the European coasts. 



THE SHAGREEN RAY.J 



This Ray has a double series of strong spines on the upper surface of the tail, but none in 

 the median line, except a short series in the middle of the back. There are spines arranged in semi- 

 circles like eyelids between the eyes ; the anterior borders of the body are undulating, much as in Raja 

 marginata. In both sexes the teeth are slender and in the upper jaw are arranged in about sixty rows. 

 The body is covered with minute spines both above and below, and these have secured for it the name 

 of Shagreen Ray. It is a species of moderate size, being about two feet eight inches long, and one foot 

 two inches broad ; it is often taken in the North of England and Scotland, and is said to feed on small 

 Star-fishes and various kinds of Crustacea, but has been taken on hooks baited with the Sand-eel. Its 

 flesh is soft and dry, so that it is less sought after for food than some of the other species. 



THE HOMELYN RAY. 



The Homelyn Ray is a smooth-skinned species which has the body of a sub-pentagonal form. 

 There is a median series of spines running along the middle of the back and tail, and usually a lateral 

 series also, along the tail, which are absent from the back. This species is very variable in its ornament, 



x 



* Raja vomer. f Raja marginata. $ Raja fuUonica, Raja maculata. 



196 



