SHARK VERSUS WHIP-RAY. 79 



This reference to the jumping capabilities of these fish 

 reminds us of a tussle between a shark and a very large 

 whip-ray, which we once saw going on in Boca Grande 

 Pass, Florida. Suddenly, as we were being slowly rowed 

 along, trolling for tarpon, there was a tremendous 

 commotion just below the surface, and then a ray 

 appeared, jumping repeatedly several feet clear of the 

 water, and coming down each time with a resounding 

 smack, which could be heard all over the Pass. At every 

 fall the shark was at it again, and for a moment the tw^o 

 beasts seemed to be rolling over and over near the surface 

 in a turmoil of foam and spray. What was the ultimate 

 issue of this strange conflict we do not know ; for after 

 about haK-a-dozen mighty springs on the part of the 

 ray, both fish disappeared, and the calm surface of 

 the water showed no trace of the giant struggle which 

 had agitated it. 



The devil-fishes are of course very closely related to 

 these whip or sting-rays, as also to the skate family. 

 A glance at the accompanying illustration of the specimen 

 we killed on Swan Island will give the reader a better idea 

 of the appearance of this fish than a page of wearisome 

 description. We might, however, call attention to the 

 short whip-hke tail, to the mouth and gill clefts, which 

 are situated on the under-surface of the animal, and to 

 the peculiar horn-like anterior fins which project in 

 front. There are also two interesting facts connected 

 with the life-history of devil-fish and some other rays, 

 which might come as a surprise to the reader not specially 

 interested in this sort of questions. First, then, devil- 

 fish, although fish in the strictest sense of the word, 

 have young in almost the same manner as mammals — 

 that is to say, they do not lay eggs like the vast majority 

 of fish, but produce young which are at birth exact 

 rephcas of their mother. Secondly, although the super- 

 ficial resemblance is so very unlike, they are by genealogy 

 closely descanded from and allied to the Selachoidei, 

 or sharks ; or at any rate, both the sharks and th^so ray- 



