No. 523] NOTES ON BEAUFORT FISHES 399 



has seen, and the only one noted in the card catalogue at 

 the laboratory. Of this species, Smith 5 wrote in 1907: 



It has not previously been recorded from North Carolina, although 

 it doubtless occurs along the entire coast of the state. At Cape Look- 

 out, on April 22, 1904, the author observed numerous specimens on the 

 beach and was informed that many are caught in the deep-water gill 



On June 5 a three-foot male Scoliodon terranova, the 

 ordinary sharp-nosed shark found everywhere in the 

 harbor, was captured at Lawton's Rock. Noticing that 

 he had the tail of an ordinary eel, AnguUla chrisypa, 

 sticking out of his mouth, I opened him and found in his 

 stomach the half-digested remains of two other eels, 

 smaller than the first. This observation leads one to con- 

 jecture whether eels constitute a steady article of diet 

 for sharp-nosed sharks. 



Lest it should seem strange for the shark to be taken 

 and to die in the boat with this half-eaten fragment of 

 food in his mouth, it may be of interest to add that T have 

 seen in the hold of a menhaden schooner, sharks of the 

 same kind literally full of menhaden, stomach, gullet and 

 mouth; and with menhaden impaled on the teeth half in 

 and half out of the closed mouth. The menhaden fisher- 

 men report that this is a very common experience with 

 them. 



The spotted sting ray, Actobatus uarinari. was first de- 

 scribed from Brazil by George Marcgrave in his "His- 

 torian Rerum Naturalium Brazilian," published in "His- 

 toria Naturalis Brazilian" by William Piso and George 

 Marcgrave at Lugduni Batavorum et Amstelodami, in 

 1648. In his description of this ray, Marcgrave gives a 

 figure which is perfectly recognizable and indeed is ad- 

 mirable, considering the time when it was drawn. 



Yarrow 6 reports that in his day this ray was very com- 

 mon at Beaufort. But so rare is this fish there at the 

 present time that, in seven summers ' fishing, I had never 

 seen one until a female was taken at Rockfish Rock on 



