THE ANGLE-FISH. 423 



This fish frequents deep water, keeping close to the bot- 

 tom, and is said to conceal itself under the soft soil ; it is 

 very voracious, and preys on small fishes, principally on 

 the smaller kind of flounders. The flesh is said to be oc- 

 casionally eaten, and is recorded to have been formerly 

 held in high estimation ; some parts of the skin, however, 

 are of value for polishing wood, but every way inferior to 

 the skin of some of the Sharks. 



Mr Yarrell says, a second species of this genus has been 

 supposed to occur on our coasts, but the Angel-Fish is liable 

 to some variation in colour, depending on the nature of the 

 ground in the locality in which it is found. The sexes also 

 exhibit some differences. The females produce their young 

 alive in June. This fish appears as closely allied to the 

 skates as it does to the sharks, but differs from both in 

 many respects. It is readily distinguished from the skates, 

 in the mouth being at the extremity, and the gill-openings 

 being on each side of the neck and not underneath. It 

 differs from the true sharks in having the eyes placed on 

 the upper surface and not laterally. 



Family RAIIDtE. — Body very much flattened, resem- 

 bling a disk ; tail more or less long and slender ; branchial 

 openings beneath ; pectorals extremely large, uniting in front 

 with the snout, extending backwards to near the base of 

 the ventrals ; mouth and nostrils beneath ; eyes and tem- 

 poral orifices above ; dorsals when present almost always up- 

 on the tail. 



Genus RA1A. — Tail slender, furnished with one or more 

 rows of spines, and two small dorsal fins towards its ex- 

 tremity. 



