142 
ox RAY. 
or American species described by modern writers, so far as I 
have seen, but seems referable to that described many years 
ago, from the coast of Tuscany, by Dr. Fabroni, of Florence, 
and figured by Lacepede under the name of Rata Fahroniana, 
in honour of its discoverer. This species seems to have been 
lost, Cuvier and most other icthyologists throwing a doubt on 
its existence, and supposing the figure referred to to represent 
a mutilated example of the common C. Giorna; it is therefore 
doubly interesting to re-discover it in our own seas, as an 
addition to the fauna, and as re-placing an old species in the 
systems. The P. Fahroniana differs from the P. Giorna in the 
length of the body (exclusive of the whip -like tail) being 
nearly one half of the width from tip to tip of the pectoral 
fins, while the length is not more than one third of the width 
in the latter species. Besides this great proportional width of 
P. Giorna, its pectorals are much narrower than in the present 
fish, and nearly straight; while in the P. Fahroniana they 
are broadly falcate, recurved, and without any fan-like margin 
on the anterior edge. The appendage to the head forms a 
semicylindrical process in the P. Giorna, but forms two horn- 
like fins, one on each side of the head, in the Irish fish and 
in Fabroni’s Mediterranean one. Those are represented in the 
figure sent to Lacepede, and engraved in his work, with, I 
think, rather too many turns, being twisted into regular conical 
horns; the corresponding parts in the specimen under con- 
sideration shew also a strong tendency to roll spirally, but 
not amounting to more than I have represented in the sketch; 
this is, however, a matter easily exaggerated by an artist, or 
the difference of age or sex would very probably make a 
difference in the length and consequent enrolment of those 
parts. 
“Dr. Fabroni’s species is defined as a falciformly dilated 
brown Kay, whitish beneath, etc. This colouring agrees 
exactly with our specimen, but dififers entirely from that of P. 
Giorna. Another point of agreement between the tw'o former 
specimens is the extreme slenderness of the tail, it not being 
more than half the thickness of that of P. Giorna; the tail 
in both specimens of the P. Fahroniana is defective as to all 
that portion from the barbed spine to the tip, so that the 
exact position or form of the spine is unknown. The figure 
