1909.] 



N. Ann AND ALE : Report on the Batoidei. 



Breadth of saw (at tip) 

 Width of mouth 

 Breadth of pectoral fin 



,, ,, pelvic fin 

 Length of pectoral fin 



„ ,, pelvic fin 

 Breadth across pectoral fin 

 Breadth of first dorsal fin 

 ,, ,, second ,, ,, 



Height of first dorsal fin 

 ,, ,, second ,, ,, 



A. 



II -2 cm. 

 45-6 „ 



126-6 ,, 

 63-3 ,, 



ioi'3 ,, 

 8i-o ,, 



304-0 ,, 

 63-3 ,, 

 35-3 ,, 

 63-3 ,, 

 63-3 ,, 



228 



It will be seen from these measurements that the proportionate length of the saw 

 varies considerably. In specimen A it is slightly over I of the total length, while in 

 B it is just about | . The teeth in these specimens are very stout, with the pos- 

 terior edge strongly grooved. They measure in A 27 mm. in breadth at the base and 

 from 73 — 78 mm. in length, in B 18 — 20 mm. in breadth at the base and 50 — 68 mm. 

 in length. The teeth at the tip bend forwards slightly in each case. A has 17 and 

 B 18 pairs. The number on the sides of the saw, however, is not always the same. 

 I have examined specimens with 22 teeth on one side of the saw, but none with so 

 many on both sides. Several have 20 on one side and 21 on the other. 



The adult female of this species is dull grey on the dorsal surface, almost white on 

 the belly, and the male does not appear to differ from the female in coloration. 



Pristis perottetii is found in all tropical seas and estuaries and is closely related 

 to P. antiquorum of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, from which it may be distin- 

 guished by the fact that in the latter the first dorsal fin is situated immediately above 

 the pelvic fins. 



Pristis pectmatus, Latham. 



This species is easily distinguished from P. perottetii by the larger number of its 

 rostral teeth (25 — 34 pairs). From P. zysron it may be distinguished by the fact that 

 the anterior edge of the first dorsal is situated almost immediately over that of the 

 pelvic fins. 



The saw is short and tapers considerably, but Day is not correct in saying that it is 

 always twice as broad at the base as at the tip, the proportion being sometimes about 

 4 to 3. The rostral teeth are rather slender and are grooved posteriorly ; at the base 

 of the saw they are, in old specimens, three or four times as distant from one another 

 as they are at the tip. I have not seen a specimen in which they had the same number 

 on both sides of the saw. The true teeth, in the mouth, resemble those of P. perottetii. 

 The head and forepart of the body are flatter in P. pedinatus than in any other 

 species I have seen. The second dorsal fin is always slightly smaller than the first. 



Although this is caommon species in the estuaries of the Ganges and is well 

 represented in the collection of the Indian Museum, I have foimd no complete specimens 



