112 SALT-WATER FISHES 



Myliobatidae 



The two great rays of this family which find their way to 

 our seas are stragglers from the warmer waters of Mexico 

 and Florida. 



The Ox Ray {Cephaloptera giorn^g) is easily known by the 

 horn-like processes in front of its head, which are said to be 

 used in setting up currents in the water and bringing food 

 to the creature's mouth. Its teeth are small and flat and lie 

 in over 150 rows, and the particular food in question is sup- 

 posed to consist of minute animals. These great rays are 

 not, on the rare occasions on which they visit our seas, as 

 active as in their warmer homes, where they are often seen 

 to hurl themselves high in the air in order to throw off the 

 remoras that persecute them. The head stands clear of the 

 disc and is square in front. The spiracles are small. A feature 

 of this ray is the immense length of its tail — three times 

 that of the body, and armed with a serrated spine. Only 

 one example has been taken in our seas ; it was caught on 

 the south coast of Ireland, and measured 45 in. across the disc. 



The Eagle Ray [Myliohatis aquila) is distinguished from 

 the last by its pointed snout, shorter tail, and absence of the 

 " horns." It also has a serrated spine in the tail ; sometimes 

 two spines are present. Examples have been taken on many 

 parts of the English coast, from Berwick to Cornwall, the 

 largest, measuring 34^^ in. across, having been recorded 

 from Torbay. Like the last, it is viviparous, and the " purse " 

 attributed to it by Couch and others belonged to a Raia. 



These, then, are our British rays, which have been likened 

 to the vultures of the air, the sharks supplying the place of 

 the eagles. The swimming of the larger rays, as seen in the 

 aquarium, is suggestive of the flight of large and sluggish 

 birds. The enormous development of the pectoral fins, the 

 attenuated, sometimes whiplike, tail, and the fringed eyelids 



