138 
SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
The largest sample I saw was off the coast of Sind ( Pristis zysrori) ; 
it measured over 16 feet, the rostrum being 4 feet 2 inches in 
length. A Pristis cuspidatus, 14 feet long, captured at Calicut, was 
found to have a liver weighing 185 lb., which was taken to the oil 
factory when I was present. 
“ At Gawadur, on the Mekran coast, I found that the fishermen 
of all religions presented the saw of these fishes at a small temple, 
tyhere they were hung up inside or piled round the outside. The 
priest was expected to pray for success for the fishermen in their 
takes and a safe return to shore. At the Andaman Islands the 
aborigines, wishing to make a suitable offering to their superinten¬ 
dent, attacked an enormous saw-fish, which they harpooned, and 
eventually secured at the risk of their lives. They presented him 
with the rostrum, which I now possess. 
“ Geographical Distribution. —Seas of tropical and temperate 
regions.” 
Our female specimen struggled violently on deck, at intermittent 
periods, for over a quarter of an hour. The exhibition clearly 
indicated the serious nature of the danger of which these fish are 
capable. 
The small male presented no outstanding features. The stomach, 
however, contained a few small fish ; the spiral valve was full of a 
stringy green muddy slime, and contained over 136 specimens of 
cestodes, all belonging to the same species, which I am describing 
elsewhere as a new species of Cephalobothrium ( C . variabile). 
Other cestodes present remain unidentified, and are possibly new. 
The length of the rostrum was 1J feet, and 1J inches broad. The 
teeth numbered 22 on the right side and 25 on the left. It is 
curious to note that the proximal 17 teeth on each side were in pairs, 
whilst the distal remaining ones were irregular. Three teeth were 
broken, and the teeth varied greatly in size. 
In the female, to which we must refer in particular, the stomach 
contained one rather large Sepia sp. newly ingested and three small 
fish measuring 5J inches. The intestine contained green fibrous 
slime and fish debris, but no cestodes. Except the distal 4 pairs, 
the teeth on the rostrum were strikingly and accurately alternate, 
except a single proximal one on the left side. The teeth numbered 
27 on the left and 25 on the right. Five teeth were broken, and 4 
showed distinct signs of repair. 
The internal wall of the stomach presented coarse longitudinal 
folds. The folds of the spiral valve were fairly closely approximated. 
Immediately on capture a discharge occurred from the cloaca, 
consisting of a serous fluid tinged with blood, and two embryos 
were noted protruding, rostrum presenting. 
On internal examination the ovaries were found to be long and 
narrow, the left one small. Both oviducts (Mullerian ducts) were 
distended, equal in size, and measured 17 inches long by 15J inches 
