THE SAWFISH 
435 
wise, thereby giving a sweeping sidewise stroke 
with its saw, and swiftly repeating it in the op- 
posite direction. On a Sawfish fourteen feet in 
length, the saw is about four and a half feet long, 
and the teeth project about one and a half inches 
from the bone. 
This creature is an intermediate form between 
the sharks and the typical rays, and in reality it is 
a shark-ray. Its eyes are a-top of its head, its 
mouth is underneath, its body in front of the dorsal 
fin is quite well flattened, and its pectoral fins have 
“ray” written all over them. The maximum 
length attained by it is said to be 15 feet. Because 
of the long, flat beak of this creature, it has become 
associated in many minds with the swordfish, but 
structurally the two are as far apart as a deer and 
a bear. 
Notwithstanding the fact that there exists a 
group called the Order of Flat-Fishes (halibuts, 
flounders and soles), the rays are by far the flattest 
of all fishes. For example, the Spotted Ray of 
Ceylon is about 5 feet across, 5 inches thick at the 
centre of the body, and at the edges its great wings 
flatten out into thin air. From the body, which 
really is quite small, and centrally located, a thin 
sheet of cartilage, consisting of a great number of 
very long, jointed rays firmly joined together, ex- 
tends outward to the very tips of the wing-like 
fins. Upon this is laid a thin layer of flesh, and 
over all is spread the rough and tough skin. The 
tail is like a long, stiff whip, with a many-barbed 
bone stiletto midway, — a very dangerous weapon 
to be so carelessly exposed. 
To a taxidermist, the mounting of a large ray is 
about the most calamitous task he can possibly 
encounter. The trouble lies in the perpetual 
shrinking after mounting. 
The Sting Ray , 1 or, by corruption, “Stinga- 
ree,” is one of the greatest pests of the eastern 
coast of the American continent. From Cape 
Cod to the Orinoco, and I know not how much 
farther beyond, this vindictive and cruel fish lies, 
assassin-like, half buried in the sand along shore, 
ready and anxious to drive its spine into any 
naked foot that comes within striking distance. 
The upper surface of the animal closely resembles 
the loose sand in which it hides, and the spine 
makes a ragged and ugly wound. The spine is 
long, dagger-like, and barbed like an arrow all 
along both edges, so that the withdrawal of it 
from a wound is very painful. On the lower 
Orinoco I saw a strong man who was then in the 
seventh week of disability from the stroke of a 
1 Try'gon sa-bi'na. 
THE SAWFISH. 
