366 NEW-YORK FAUNA. 



S. americanus. (Id. lb. Vol. 1, p. 483;) and subsequently S. macrodons, (Id. Am. Month. Mag. Vol. 

 2, p. 328.) All the particulars n;ivcn are that "it belongs to the section of Squall, which has 

 nasal orifices and an anal fin;" that his body "has a great size;" and that "it has oblong sharp 

 teeth, each of which has a little one on each side of the base." The presence of small basal 

 teeth would seem to indicate its affinity ^vith the genus ScijU'mm. 



FAMILY RAIID^. 



Body very much flattened out, rese7nhling a dish. Pectorals very large, uniting in front 

 with the snout, and extending backwards to near the base of the ventrals. Tail more or 

 less long and slender. Mouth, nostrils and branchial openings beneath. Eyes and tem- 

 poral orifices above. Dorsals {lohen present) almost always on the tail. 



Obs. An extremely natural family, and composed of more than one hundred species, 

 distributed throughout the globe. 



GENUS RATA. Linneus, Cuvier. 



Disk rhomboidal. Tail slender ; with two small dorsals near the tip, and sometimes the 

 vestige of a caudal fin. Teeth slender, close set, arranged in quincunx. 



THE CLEAR-NOSED RAY. 



Raia diaphanes. 

 PLATE LXVII. FIG. 218. (Male and female.) 

 Raia diapkanes, Clear-nosed Hay. Mitchill, Trans. lit. and Phil. Soc. Vol. ], p. 478. 



Characteristics. Brownish, spotted. Front rounded, witli the nose sliglitly projecting and 

 prominent. Length two to three feet. 



Description. Body obscurely rhomboidal, rounded in front, concave on the sides, dilated 

 and convex over the pectoral fins ; in its widest part, broader than long. Sharp recurved 

 prickles over the slightly elevated snout, on the space between the orbits, and on llie anterior 

 part of the disk. A double series of very long concealed curved spines directed inwards, on 

 the pectorals. A double, and sometimes a treble row of prickles along the middle of the back, 

 down along tlie sides of the tail, leaving a central furrow smooth and spineless. Tail slen- 

 der, tapering, round above, flat beneath, with a membranous expansion on each side, extend- 

 ing three-fourths of the length towards the extremity, when it becomes effaced. Ej'cs small, 

 black, and furnished with a stellated membrane. Temporal orifices very large, and closed 

 by a stout valve, which is furnished on its edge with a row of white fleshy filaments. A 

 space on each side of the snout, extending backwards nearly to the orbits, so translucent that 

 any dark substance may be seen through it. This space is tilled with gelatinous fluid, through 



