Section IV. 
The Shat t *. 
i he Ikate is the large!! of this genus, and thinnelt is* 
proportion to its bulk : In thefe colder latitudes it is fel- 
^°tn found above two hundred pounds weight. Wil- 
loughby mentions one fold in the market of Cambridge , 
"'hich, when drefled by the cook of St. John's college, 
^tted an hundred and twenty ftudents f. 
The nofe, though not long, is fharp pointed ; above 
ne eyes there rifes a fet of fnort fpines : The whole up- 
P^r part Q f t he body is a pale brown, refembling the wet 
SaiJ d with which the animal is faid to cover itfelf. The 
bod y, towards the Tides, is thinned down into two fins, 
l ^at have the appearance of wings ; and at the buttocks 
t ^ ere are others of a thick flefhy fubtlance. The tail of 
Species is ftiort, obtufe, of a roundilh form, but 
c °rnprefied a little towards the fides $. 
The lower part of the body is white, plentifully 
Marked with a great number of minute black fpots, 
•Hch are fuppofed to be the glands, by which that flimy 
^ UCUs which covers the fi!h is fecrcted. All full covered 
a ^ milar glutinous matter, are obferved to poffefs 
e arne organs of fecretion §. The lkull of the Ikaie 
VoL - ni. o » 
% 
f 
$ 
^ ai * Bans, Lyj. Syft. The Skate or Flaire, Will. 
‘ Ichthyol. page 71. J j,j em jbulein. 
N *coIas Steno apud Willough, 
