225 



considerable and crowded. The anterior profile is deeply con- 

 cave ; the angle of the pectorals is rather pointed ; there are no 

 spines round the eyes, but a series of three or four is seen on 

 each side of the back, and ends before the insertion of the ventrals ; 

 the tail is armed with three series of strong tuberculous spines, 

 and one or two are seen on the middle of the back behind the 

 head. The teeth are rather large, like pavement, and numerous. 



The general colour is of a greyish purple^ with the sides 

 reddish ; all the body is covered with rounded white spots. This 

 sort is very common in the market, and is esteemed for the table. 



It is always with doubt that I admit that a fish from the 

 Antarctic Seas is specifically similar to an European one, more so 

 as I have no specimens of the latter region for comparison ; but 

 the descriptions and figures of Oxyrliynchus, that I have at my 

 disposal, agree so well with the Australian fish that I should not 

 be justified in separating them. I think, also, that Raja Nasuta 

 of Muller and Henle, which is established on a figure drawn in 

 New Zealand by Solander, will prove to belong to this species. 



The egg is large, of the usual form in Rays, of a silky green. 

 In a large female I found one large egg on each side, and 

 numerous small ones. 



MYLIOBATHm 



" The disk is very broad in consequence of the 

 great development of the pectoral fins, which, 

 however, leave the sides of the head free, and re- 

 appear at the extremity of the snout as a pair of 

 detached (cephalic) fins." 



MYLIOBATIS. 



Genus formed by Cuvier, and containing nine or ten sorts, of 

 which two are found in the South Australian Seas. 



MYLIOBATIS AQTTILA. 



Baja Aquila, Lin., Syst. Nat., vol. i., p. 396. 

 Coloration of a dark green, almost uniform. 



