RATA ERINACEA. 337 



Disk without the ventrals broader than long, nearly right angled in front, 

 outer and hinder angles and hinder margins rounded. Length of snout less than 

 twice the interspiracular width, tip slightly blunted, rostral cartilage slender. 

 Tail moderately slender, little longer than the body, hardly extended beyond the 

 second dorsal. Mouth small, width more than half the distance from the end of 

 the snout. Teeth small, sharp, in about 42 rows. Anterior nasal valve reaching 

 the angles of the mouth, joined to a wide isthmus which is deeply concave be- 

 tween them. Ventral notch moderate, forward portion of fin rather small; 

 dorsals separated by a space with tubercles. A median series of tubercles on 

 back and tail, two lateral series on each side of the tail, a series on each orbital 

 ridge, a group above the end of the rostral cartilage, a group on the anterior 

 extremity of each pectoral opposite the eye and the spiracle, the shagreen below 

 the snout and the tenacula on males include nearly all of the asperities; ex- 

 cepting these, the male described is about smooth. Females and young as in 

 allied species are no doubt more rough. Total length 16?, snout to abdominal 

 pores 72, and greatest width 9 inches. 



In the original description the length of the tail should have been 8.6 instead 

 of 9.6 inches. 



Light yellowish brown with small spots of brown intermixed with others of 

 white. An oblong rounded spot of black behind each shoulder is surrounded by 

 a series of the small spots of brown. Lower surfaces white. 



Yucatan Banks, Gulf of Mexico. U. S. C. S. S. Blake. 



/ 



RaIA ERINACEA. 

 Plate 20; Plate 55, fig. 5 (vertebrae); Plate 68, fig. 1 (skeleton). 



Raid eglantiera Lesueur, 1824, Journ. Acad. nat. sci. Phil., 4, 103, with plate (not R. eglanleria 



Lacepede, 1800). 

 Rata erinacea Mitch., 1825, Amer. journ. sci., 9, p. 290, pi. 6; DeKay, 1842, N. Y. fish, 372, pi. 78, f. 



246; Storer, 1846, Mem. Amer. acad., new ser., 2, p. 259; Garman, 1874, Proc. Best. soc. nat. 



hist., 17, p. 176, fig.; Jordan & Gilbert, 1882, Bull. 16, U. S. nat. mus., p. 40; Jord. & Everm., 



1896, Bull. 47, U. S. nat. mus., p. 68, pi. 9, f. 29. 

 Ruia eglanleria Storer, 1846, Mem. Amer. acad., new ser., 2, p. 259; Dumeril, 1865, Elasm., 532; 



GtJNTH, 1870, Cat. fishes Brit, mus., 8, 462. 



Anterior margins of disk waved, convex opposite the eyes, concave opposite 

 the spiracles, outer and hinder angles and margins rounded. Snout short, 

 longer than that of R. diaphanes, about one and one half times the inter;5piracular 

 width. Mouth strongly waved; teeth in about 50 rows. Back rough, with 

 strong hooked spines over almost the entire surface on females, especially rough 

 near and on the head, on the snout, about the shoulders, on the hinder portions 



