308 The Hijlory of ANIMALS. 
Raia dorfo ventreque glabris , aculeis ad oculos , ternoque 
eorum ordine in cauda . 
The fmooth Raia , fpmes about the eyes > <2;%/ three 
■ ww 0/* the tail . 
This is a fmall fpecies3 it rarely grows to more than a foot in length, and the far 
greater number met with are not more than eight inches 5 it’s breadth is equal to 
fomewhat more than half it’s length, and it is moderately thick, in proportion: the 
roftrum is oblong and acute : the eyes are large and prominent3 there are fame fpines 
placed about them, and juft behind each there is. a large aperture : the mouth is large 
and tranfverfe, and is furnifhed with fharp teeth 3 the apertures of the gills are fmall 3 
they run down the breaft in two rows, five in each row : the back is of a pale reddifh 
colour, and on the middle of it there are two large purple fpots, black at the edges, 
and below thefe there are feveral white, tranfverfe lines. 
This fpecies is frequent in the Mediterranean, but it is not met with in our feas. 
Rondelet, Gefner, and Aldrovand call it Raia oculata, lasvis 3 Jonfton and Charleton, 
Raia oculata 3 Willughby and Ray, Raia laevis oculata 3 Salvian, Raia ftellaris; and 
Bellonius, Miraletus. The Venetians, in whofe markets it is frequent, call it Barra- 
col 5 the Italians, Arzilla 3 and the Maffilians call it Mirallet. 
Raia varia tuberculis decern aculeatis in medio dorfi. 
The variegated Raia , with ten prickly tubercles in the middle of the back . 
This is a large fpecies, the weight of a full-grown one is ten or twelve pounds: 
the roftrum is very long, and is more acute or fharp at the point, than in any of the 
preceding fpecies 5 the eyes are large and prominent, and there is a large aperture be¬ 
hind each of them : the mouth is tranfverfe, and the teeth are fharp 3 the apertures of 
the gills are fmall 3 they are five on each fide, and run down in ftraight lines from the 
mouth, along the breaft : the back is fomewhat prominent 5 the belly is more flat, 
and there runs along the middle of the back a feries of ten tubercles, which are prick¬ 
ly on the fummit: there are two thick and flefhy pinnae ani, or rather ventral fins, 
with two thick appendages, befide what are called the penes 3 and toward the extre¬ 
mity of the tail there is always one, and fometimes there are two fins: in the full-grown 
fifh there are always certain fpines alfo at the fides of the tail, but thefe are fcarce per¬ 
ceptible, unlefs in fuch. 
This is frequent in the Mediterranean, and has been caught in fome other feas: the 
antients were well acquainted with it. Ariftotle and Oppian call it 3 Athenasus 5 
BSV 3 -ocXutti(&> 3 Ovid and Pliny call it Bos 3 and Paulus Jovius, Bos Bellula. Authors 
have alfo defcribed it a fecond time, as if a different fpecies. The antients, as well 
as the moderns, have fallen into this error. Ariftotle calls it ■ Bellonius, Las¬ 
vis Raia. Among the moderns alfo, many have defcribed it even a third time, as if a 
ftiil different fifh. Aldrovand calls it Bos Bellonii, Oxyrynchus major Rondeletii 3 
Jonfton, Oxyrynchus major 3 Rondelet, Willughby, and Ray, Raia Oxyrynchos ma¬ 
jor 5 and Gefner, Raia Oxyrynchos major quem aliqui Bovem antiquorum effe putant. 
The Italians call it Mucofa and Bovofa 5 and the Maffilians, Floffade. 
Raia varia , dorfo medio glabro , unico acideorum ordine in 
cauda. 
The variegated Raia , with the middle of the back fmooth , 
and one row of fpmes on the tail. 
This is one of the largeft of the Rake 3 it grows to more than a yard in length 5 
it’s breadth is equal to about three fourths of it’s length, and it’s thicknefs is fo con- 
fiderable, that it often weighs a hundred pounds : the back is fomewhat gibbofe 3 the 
belly is more flat 5 the colour is a pale grey, variegated with irregular fpots of black : 
the roftrum is lpng and fubacute 3 the eyes are large and prominent, there are two 
apertures, one behind each : the mouth is large and tranfverfe 3 the apertures ot the 
gills are fmall, and run in two feries, five in each down the breaft : the lateral fins in 
the 
