RAIIKE. NATURAL ARRANGEMENT. 171 



anchor in the entrance of the Bocco del Toro. The cir- 

 cumstance occurred soon after daylight, and the man, 

 being alarmed by the call of a sailor up aloft, endea- 

 voured to return to the ship ; but the monster threw one 

 of his fins over him, and he was never seen more. 



(151.) The natural arrangement of the family has 

 never been yet attempted. MM. Muller and Henle 

 have just made considerable improvements on the method 

 and nomenclature of Cuvier, by separating and defining 

 many of the subordinate types, passed over in the Regne 

 Animal; but their arrangement has no ulterior object, 

 and merely aims at characterising the divisions. Having 

 paid some little attention, therefore, to this family, we 

 shall endeavour, on the present occasion, to determine 

 the natural series of its variation, and shall subsequently 

 show that this is regulated by the same general law that 

 pervades all the other groups of ichthyology. We ar- 

 range the whole family under the five following divi- 

 sions :-*—!. The Rain^:, or true rays; 2. The Mylio- 

 batin^e, or eagle rays ; 3. The Torpebin^, or torpedo 

 rays ; 4. The Squatin^, or shark rays ; and, 5. The 

 Rhinobatin^, or snout rays. The two first of these 

 are typical, and are distinguished by their very slender 

 and whip-like tails ; while in the three latter, or aberrant 

 sub-families (each represented only by a single genus), 

 the tails are thick, and more or less approach those of 

 the sharks. 



(152.) The barb, sting, or spine, — for it has been 

 called by all these names, — with which the tail of the 

 majority of the sting and eagle rays is armed, is a most 

 formidable weapon, in the shape of a long-headed lance: 

 it is acutely pointed, and varies in length according 

 both to the species and the size of the individual : it 

 is a compressed, hard bone, having the two edges finely 

 serrated, with the serratures pointing to the head, so as 

 to tear the flesh upon being drawn out; and it thus in- 

 flicts a most grievous wound. It is currently understood 

 by all sea- faring people, that these barbs are poisonous ; 



