64 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



the hooked spine, and other characters, as those from Scotland. Dr 

 Dickie added to his kindness by forwarding part of an arm, marked 

 Ophiocoma minuta, by the late Mr Thompson, and which formed part 

 of that lamented gentleman's collection, and on this I find similar hooked 

 spines of both sorts; and if this (0. minuta) is a good species, I have 

 several specimens from Peterhead and Wick, and thus have another 

 addition to our list. Should Ophiocoma rosula be found without these 

 jaw-like spines, the one now described will be, if nothing else, a new 

 species. The following reasons have induced me- to lay these imperfect 

 observations before you — First, to ask those who have time and oppor- 

 tunity, and are placed in good localities, to work out the history of these 

 spinigrade animals ; for we want, in addition to the beautiful figures given 

 by the lamented Forbes, each species figured with dissected sections of 

 spines, body, and ray plates, &c. These new characters may lead to other 

 discoveries, and a standard be arrived at by which genera and species 

 may be satisfactorily made out much better than at present. (Second, 

 When I had the pleasure of accompanying Sir Roderick Murchison, the 

 past summer, on his geological tour, he told me that some one had 

 figured and described certain minute fossils found in Silurian rocks as 

 jaws of animals, and which he (Sir Roderick) thought were portions of star- 

 fishes. I sketched one of the jaw-like forms I had met with in Ophio- 

 coma rosula — this, he thought, resembled in some measure the sup- 

 posed jaws taken from the Silurian rocks. Should this be the case, by 

 giving publicity to this discovery I hope to do good both to Zoology 

 and Geology. 



VI. Notice of the Ukpam, a large species (probably new) of Sting Ray 

 (Trygon, Cuv.), found in the Old Calabar River , Africa. (Two 

 young specimens were exhibited.) By John Alexander Smith, M.D. 



The Ukpam is the native African name of a species of Ray 

 which is found in the rivers of Old Calabar, on the west coast 

 of tropical Africa. This fish appears to grow to a great size, 

 and specimens have been taken which measured 4 feet across, 

 and about the same length from the snout to the insertion of 

 the tail, and 10 feet in length to the point of the tail. A 

 full-grown individual is described as being quite a heavy 

 enough load for four men to carry from the river side. It 

 occurs in considerable abundance in the Old Calabar River, 

 and is much sought after by the natives, who consider its 

 flesh as a great delicacy, and capture the fish by striking it 

 through with a barbed spear, while lying partially concealed 

 in the sand or mud in the bed of the river. It has been 

 taken near the bar, at the mouth of the river, where the water 

 of course is salt, and also up the river as high as Uwet and 



