£2 



MALAYAN PISHES. 



A tjaw^fish measiirmiJ' 23 foet fi inches exclusive of the saw was 

 taken in the Bay of Bengal by the Governinent trawler " Golden 

 Ctowe, juifl I believe that thig is the lflr*je,st re^'Orcled Jish, No 

 nieiitioii k made of the length of the saw of this spetnmen hut it is 

 not likely to haTe been teas than 7 feet TJie largest saw in the 

 Eafflea Mijseuni, Singajwre, measures 5 ft. 10| in. 



BEAKED-RAYS, * 



(f^iriNOBATWAE.) 

 These are harralosSj sedentary, bottom-feediaig fishes whitJi 

 subeiat ciiiefly on shell-fish, eraibs, etc. They are coneidered ^ood 

 eating and are sold regularly in the markets. 



They are known Ui Malays ^» Yu kemejan. 



ELECTRIC.RAYS. 



{TOBPEmmDAE.) 



Theso Rays to whifh ilie llolays have given the rlescriptive 

 namc6 Pari kebas or Pari s&bar have the power of inflicting 

 electrie ahoeks, " T]ig fish " writes Dr, Giinther, jrjves the elee- 

 tri<j shock Yoluntariiy* when it is excited to do so in self defeucej 

 or intends to stnn or kill its prey. The eW-trie eiirrents created 

 in these fishes exereifie all the other known properties of electricity; 

 they Hinder the; needle magnetiej decompose chemical compounder 

 and emit the spark/' 



Our Miilayan sfjeeies are very small. 1 have a speeiraen of 

 the Pari kebas {Asiraim dip(erygia) about six tnches long and 

 there is no record yet of specimens over IS inebes* 



When tmwljTig on the Australian coast we took many spcci- 

 nien,* wliich aijpeared t<i be between two and three feet in lensfth 

 and one or Um new deck hands exi>erienced shocks which Bppeared. 

 to cause only momentary inconvenience. 



Cantor bavs, that out of the water they may he hnn<lled with 

 impunity. 



STING RAYS. 



Nearly all the members of this family art? ]}rovi(led with long 

 whipdike tails, M'hich are generally armed witli spine.^. In the 

 br«^er kinds these forniidable spines may l>e an niucli iis 8 or 9 

 inches in length: and* as they wear out they are. from time to 

 time, she*l and replaced by new ones growing from behhid. 



These Bpines inflit^ very severe wounds, the pain of which is 

 greatly increased by tiie apparently poisonous entaneouB mucus 

 ii:t rod need into the wound. 



The Pari beting {Trygon uarmik) attains a large size, .1 feet 

 or more aero^Ls the disk, and a weight of well over 200 pounds. In 

 one haul of the trawl in the Bay of Bengal the ^'Golden Crown" 

 iJDok four of these fish which weighed resjjectivoiy Ifit). ItO, 160 

 and 1^ pounds* 



