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Show 294 PISCES. TRYGON, Adans.( 1) Is recognized by the tail armed with a spine notched on both s1" d es, an d tl1e small ' slender, and crowded teeth arrang. ed in quin· cunx ord er • The head ' like that of the common Ray, . Is enveloped by the pectorals, which gene1·ally form ave? obtus~ disk. . The tail of some is slender and barely furmshed w1th a fold m the form of a fin; of this number some have a smooth ba~k. Such is R. pastinaca, L.; Bl., 82. (The Sting Ray.) Disk, round and smooth; inhabits European seas, where its spine is considered venomous, on account of the dangerous nature of the wounds inflicted by its serrated edges.(2) . The back of others is more or less spmous,(3) or tubercu· lated.( 4) Some again have a wide membrane on the under surface or the tail and the species, R. Sephen., Forsk.,( 5) whose back, crowdec~ with osseous tubercles, furnishes us with shagreen, is of this number. The rounded body of one of them is even co· vered with small spines, and the tail with tubercles like those on the R. clavata,-R. Gesneri,( 6) Cuv. Several, however, have a smooth back.(7) . . . . In some again the slightly elongated and thick tatlts termt· nated by a fin.(8) Finally, in others the extent of the wings renders the body very broad and the tail very short.(9) The ANACANTHus, Ehrenb. Resembles a Trygon, but the long and slender tail has neit~er fin nor spine. There is a species in the Red Sea whose back IS fur· (t) TpV')'f.tlV, or 'Purtur, ancient names of these fishes. (2) Add Tenkee Shindraki, Russ., I, 5. . th (3) The Raic tubercuUe, Lacep., I, iv, 1, in which the engraver has omitted e caudal spine;-Raia Sabina, :Lesueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. ( 4) laakurralt-Tenlcee, Russ., 1, 4. (5) Add Wolga-Tenkee, Russ., I, 3. (6) They only had the figure of the tail, Gesner, 77. b' h (7) R . ly mna, Forsk., p. 17 . It 1. S at 1e ast a very c l ose 1y al l"I e d specie.s w IC d is fil>ured, but without a spine, under the name of torpille, Lace~., I, VI, l, ;~e perhaps it is also the P. gravatus, Geoff., Eg. Poiss., Bl., XXV, 1, 1. :N:B· lymne, Lacep., I, iv, 2 and 3, is merely a common Trygon;-R . ;a· mat'" cens1s' cuv., Sloane's Jam., pl. 246, f. 1. (8) The Raie croisee, Lacep., Ann. Mus., IV, lv, 2. (9) P. kunsua, Cuv., Tenkee kunsu, Russel, I, 6;-R. Maclt~ra, Lesueur, Ac· Nat. Sc. Phil., or micrura, Bl., Schn., 360. t:HONDRO..P'l'ERYGU BRANCHIIS FIXIS. 295 nished with a coarser shagreen than that of the Sephen, and with stellated granules.( 1) MYLIODATis, Dumer.(2) The head proj_ecting beyond ~he pectorals, which are larger transversely.than m other _Rays, giving them somewhat the appearance of a bird of prey w1th outstretched wings, which has caused them to be compared to the Eagle. The jaws are furnished with broad flat teeth, placed like flags in a pavement, and differing in size according to the species; their extremely long and slender tail termina~ es in a point an.d is ~rmed, like t.hat of a Trygon, with a strong spme notched on both sides, supportmg near its base and before the spine, a small dorsal. Sometimes there are two or more spines.(3) The snout of some projects in a parabola. Such as R. aquila, L.; .fligle de mer; Mourine; Ratepenade; Bceuf; Pesce ratto, &c.; Duham., part II, Sect. IX, pl. x; and the teeth, ~uss. Ac. des. ~c.,. 1721, pl. 17.( 4) (The Sea Eagle.) The middle plates of Its Jaws are much wider than they are long, and placed in a single row; the lateral ones, which are regular hexagons, in three rows.( 5) It attains a large size and is found in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. In others, the RniNOPTERA, Kuhl, the snout is divided into two short lobes, under which are two similar ones.(6) CHEPALOPTERA, Durn.(7) The tail slender; the spine, small dorsal, and the pectorals broad, as in Myliobatis; but the teeth are still more tenuous than those of {l) T~:~iereba, Marcgr., 175 (Raia orbicularis, BI., Schn.), belongs, perhaps~ to tillS diVISIOn. (2) Mrr;.,fo~tJ.rroc, from f-1-Ul-..11 (grindstone), referring to the form of the teeth. (3) See the tail with five spines, Voy. de Freycin., Zool. 42, f. 3. .(4) N.B. The fig. of Bloch, 81, is not that of the aquila, but of a Trygon With a fin placed before the spine. (5) Add: Myl. bovina, Geoff., Eg. Poisa., pl. xxvi, f. 1;-R. narinari, L., Marcgr., 75, and under the name of aigle, Lacep., I, vi, 2, and the teeth, Phil. Trans., Vol. XIX, No. 283, p. 673. Eel tenkee, Russ., I, 8, found in both hemispl~ res;-R. flagellum, Schn., 73. His R~ nieuhowii, Will. App., X, Mookarralt ten :• Russ., VII, perhaps only differs from it in the loss of the spine. The teeth are hke those of the aquila,--R. Jussicui, Cuv., has the middle teeth broadev than they are long, and in three rows. Jus. Ac. des Sc., 1721, pl. iv, f. 12. 1 (G) Myliobatis marginata, Geoff., Eg., Poiss., pl. xxv, f. 2;-Raia quadriloba, esueur, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. (7) Cltepaloptera, winged head, from the projection of the pectm·als. \ |