420 COLONEL MONTAGU ON NEW AND RARE 



the Rubiis being sharp-pointed, and thfe supposU 

 tion that the teeth of both sexes of the Thorn- 

 back were obtuse, (a circumstance on which he 

 seems to laj much stress), he would probably 

 have pronounced it a male of that species. What 

 strengthens the opinion that the Rubiis of most 

 authors is the Male Thornback, is the mention of 

 the spines on the flaps of the pectoral fins, (a pe- 

 culiar mark of the masculine gender), and that 

 the colour agrees with that fish. 



Having ventured to express doubts of any spe- 

 cific distinction between Raja clavata, rubus and 

 fullonica of most authors, and that the sexual 

 difference in clavata, has probably occasioned this 

 error ; I shall conclude the subject, with offering 

 a conjecture, whether the Raia radiata, Donovan, 

 British Fishes, v. tab. 114., may not be a young 

 specimen of what some writers have called Rubus. 



Raia chagrlnea, 



Chagreen Ray. Brit. Zool. iii. p. 87. — Shaw, Zool. r» 

 p. 281. 



Plate xxi. 



This species, originally described by Mr Pen- 

 nant, from specimens observed at Scarborough, 

 appears to be little known. It should seem that 

 Gmelin, who has generally referred to the Bri- 

 tish Zoology, either aecidentally omitted it, or did 



