ic5 



THE SKATE. 



is filled with a copious colle£lion of clear glutinous mat- 

 ter, through which all the nerves that are diftributed to 

 the different parts of the body, appear tranfnarent. A- 

 mong thefe are feen the optic and olefaflory nerves ; the 

 latter proceed through the apertures, all along to the 

 jnofe, and afford full proof that this animal pofl'effes the 

 fenfe of fmellinsc. 



l^he Sharp Nofed Skate *. 



\V ILLOUGHBT dcfcrlbcs a fiih of this fpecies, which he 

 examined at Ror?ie m 1664 : They are frequently taken 

 on the Brityh coafts j and are diflinguifhed from the for- 

 mer by their long, narrow, and fharp pointed nofe, not 

 unlike the end of a fpontoon f . The mouth is very 

 large, and furniflied with a number of fmall Iharp teeth, 

 bending inwards : The tail is thick, and terminates in 

 two fmall fins. 



This is fuppofed to be the bos of the ancient natura- 

 lifls, a fi(h they defcribe as of an enormous fize %. Op- 

 piuTi gives an account of its fondnefs for human flefii, 

 and the method it talces of deflroying men, by overlay- 

 ing them, and keeping theni down with its vafl weight, 

 till they are drowned. Other writers give the fame re- 

 lation, and confirm the character of thefe anthropophagi ^, 

 In the fouth they are fo well known, that the pevfons 



employed 



* Raia oxyrinchiis, Lin. Syil. IJein, Willoughby. 

 f Pennant's Brit. Zool. 



§ f^ide Vhilc de propriet. anim. et Ulloa's voy. i, 13s. 



