THE SAW-FISH. 2IS 



like that of the dog-fish, for polishing joiner's work, and it is in some places manufact- 

 ured into a sort of shagreen. 



As may be seen by the illustration, the eyes are set rather far back on the upper 

 part of the head, and a little behind each eye is the temporal orifice, very large in pro- 

 portion to the dimensions of the fish, very long, and set transversely on the head. 

 The wide mouth, which opens in front of the head and not below as in the shark's, is 

 furnished with rather long and sharply pointed teeth. The color of the upper parts 

 is dark chocolate-brown mottled with a darker hue, and very rough. Along the back 

 runs a row of short sharp spines, their points directed backwards, and the under parts 

 are smooth and of a dull brownish white. The length of an adult specimen is seven 

 or eight feet. 



SAW-FISH. Prlstis aatlquorum. 



WE now arrive at the Rays. The first family of these fishes is evidently intermediate 

 between the sharks and the skates, and is in many respects a very interesting and remark- 

 able group of fishes. The common SAW-FISH, so well known from the singular develop- 

 ment of the snout, is a good example of this family. 



It has a very wide range of locality, being found in almost all the warmer seas, and 

 even in the cold regions near the pole. In the illustration, a view of the head and saw 

 is given in the foreground, and the general shape of the fish is shown in the partly sub- 

 merged figure above. 



The snout of this fish is greatly prolonged, and flattened like a sword-blade. On either 

 edge it bears a row of tooth-like projections, firmly imbedded in the bone, few, short, and 

 wide apart at the base of the beak, but becoming larger and set closer together to- 

 wards the point. The form of the sockets into which the teeth are received, and their 



