476 Veterinary Medicine. 



expend their electric power, and when in a condition of exhaus- 

 tion the gymnoti approach the banks, they can safely harpoon 

 them and pull them ashore. 



EI.ECTRIC RAY. TORPEDO. MALAPTURUS. MEDUSA. 



Electric ray have electric apparatus on each side, having septa with spaces 

 containing gelatinoid matter and nucleated cells. Found in Atlantic and 

 Indian Oceans ; the largest in the tropics. Jelly fish shock man and ani- 

 mal. Sheath fish of Central Africa has batteries on the surface, strongest 

 on abdomen. Same precautions as for electric eel. 



The electric rays are fair counterparts of the electric eel. In 

 these the electric batteries lie one on each side, and are formed of 

 septa enclosing minute cells containing a gelatinoid matter and 

 nucleated corpuscles. They are found on the coasts of the At- 

 lantic and Indian Oceans, some of the smaller forms even as far 

 north as Great Britain, while the larger specimens (sometimes 80 

 to 100 lbs.) are either tropical or semi-tropical. Their shocks 

 benumb the unfortunate fishermen who may chance to hook them, 

 being transmitted along the line, but as they prefer deep water it 

 is only exceptionally that any of the lower animals suffer from 

 their attacks. This can hardly be said of the Medusa or Jelly 

 Fish which floats in deep and shallow waters, and shocks man or 

 animal that may come in contact with it. Fortunately its power 

 is very slight, and the sensation produced is that of a smart slap 

 or a sudden stinging pain. 



The Malapturus or Sheath Fish of Central Africa, on the 

 contrary, inhabits fresh waters, and shocks man and beast that 

 may come in contact with it. In this animal the battery covers 

 the body, but is thickest and strongest over the abdomen. It lies 

 between the subcutaneous aponeurotic layers, and is constituted 

 of rhomboid cells containing a gelatinoid material. The nerve 

 supply is most abundant and is conveyed through an enormous 

 spinal branch, difstributed to the entire organ. 



The same precautions are obviously demanded as in the case of 

 the electric eel, the avoidance of fords through infested waters, 

 the bridging of such waters when feasible and the defense of the 

 limbs of waders by rubber boots or bandages. 



