PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 251
Inclies.Longitudinal diameter of orbit 5jjLength of lower jaw, in straiglit line 1_42Length of upper jaw, in straight line 1 15Tip of snovit to insertion of pectoral, about 3.00Tip of snout to origin of dorsal, along axis of fish 3.(52Tip of snout to origin of dorsal, along dorsal profile 4.03Tip of snout to origin of anal, along axis of fish (5.45Tip of lower jaw to insertion of ventrals, along abdominal profile 3.32Width of pectoral base 90Length of pectorals 2.40Length of ventrals ..? 1.50Length of base of 1st dorsal to Xllth spine 2.08Height of longest (4th) dorsal spine 1.25Length of base of 2d dorsal 2.60Height of longest (3d) ray of dorsal 1.44Length of base of anal 1.62Height of longest (Ist) ray of anal 1.38Fill formula.?B. 7; D. XII+11, -jV; A. -i\; P. 18; Y. i; C. lat.line circa 128-134.
DE.SCISIPTIOIV OF A NEW SPECIES OF RAY, RAIA RHIIVA, FROITITHE COAST OF CAI.IFORIVIA.By DAVID S. JOKDAiV aiid CHARLES H. OI?,B?RT.Kaia rhina, sp. uov.Disk ratlier broader than long-, the snout very sharp and long-acumi-nate. Outer angle of pectoral sharp ; posterior edge of pectoral nearlystraight. Eegion from j)ectoral angle to snout slightly convex, thenalmost uniformly and strongly concave to near the tip of the snout, whichtapers to a sharp point. A straight line from the snout to the tip of thepectoral passes far from the edge of the disk. Length of snout nearlyfour times the interorbital width.Interorbital space quite narrow, very little concave, somewhat depressedin the middle. Nasal ridges separated for more than half their length.Supraocular ridges slightly elevated. Eyes larger and much longer thanspiracles. Ventral fins deeply ( marginate. Caudal fin reduced to asmall fold. Dorsal fins moderate, rather close together, the interspaceless than the base of the tin.Female with the spines on the body moderately strong, arranged asfollows
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Five or six rather strong spines above the eyes. Two in front of thecenter of the back. None along the middle line of the back until oppo-site the posterior end of the ventrals^ where a median series begins on thetail. A lateral caudal series on each side, and two or three long sharpspines between the dorsal fins.Roughnesses on the skin above rather large, sharp-pointed, and evi-dently stellate. Those on the snout especially conspicuously stellateand larger than the others. These prickles are everywhere present on the
252 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.upper parts of the body, but they are not evenly distributed, and inmost regions they are placed quite wide apart. Thej^ are largest andmost numerous on the nasal ridges, interorbital space, middle region ofback and tail, and anterior j)art of pectorals. On the base and edges ofthe i^ectorals and on the ventrals the prickles are few and small. Onthe middle portion of the pectorals they are rather numerous. Under-side of disk everywhere prickly except along' the edges of the fins; theprickles largest under the snout.IVIale not seen, probably differing, as in the other species, in the sparserj)rickles above, in the absence of a lateral caudal series, and in the pres-ence of stouter prickles on the anterior part of the pectorals and of claw-like sj^ines on the posterior part. Mouth somewhat arched. Teethabout If. Nasal flap rather less than half the width of the mouth.Coloration essentially as in Baia binoculata. Light brown above,vaguely mottled with paler ; the usual dark riug at the base of the pec-torals most distinct in fresh examples, and probably in the young".This species is known to us from three examples. Adult females, 26 to29 inches in length. One from Monterey Bay and two from San Fran-cisco Bay. The one from Monterey was referred to in our descriptionof Baia stellulata as a long-nosed form or variety of Baia hinoculata.Baia rhina, is related to Baia cooperi and Baia hinoculata. From thelatter it differs in the much sharper and longer snout, in the less concaveinterorbital space, and in the much greater roughness of the body, thesmall prickles, even in the female of B. hinoculata, being confined to thesnout, interocular space, and a portion of the median region of tlie backand the tail, the fins being perfectly smooth. The male has the usualpatches on the pectoral fins, and the back almost or quite smooth.From Baia cooperi, Baia rliina differs in the much smaller size in length,the adult of Baia coopcH reaching at least a length of more than six feet.It also differs in form, color, interorbital width, armature, &c., as willappear from the following description of a young male example of Baiacooperi, 21h inches in length, from San Francisco.Disk broad, its undest part much behind the middle, the pectoral anglerather sharp, and the r)osterior edge very little convex. The anteriormargin of the pectoral is at first slightly convex, then concave, then, op-posite the eyes, again very slightly convex, then again slightly concave;the snout itself not very sharp, although long.Interorbital space very broad and almost flat (deeply concave in B.hinoculata), only slightly depressed in the middle, the nasal ridges wellseparated for usually two-thirds their length. Supraocular ridge not atall elevated. Uyes quite small, shorter than the spiracles.Ventral fins not deeply emarginate (becoming more deeply emarginatein the adult). Caspers, in this example (which, although larger thanthe adults of the other species, is evidently immature), very small,scarcely exserted beyond the ventral edge. Claw-like pectoral spinesnot yet develoiied. Caudal fin wanting. Dorsal fins moderate, not far
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apart, the interspace less than the length of the base. Tail with a slightLiteral fold.Spines on body small and few. Two or three very small ones over theeye, one at the center of the back, with a minute one in front of it.None along the median line of the back, the median caudal series begin-ging at the base of the ventrals. These spines are quite small, but growlarger backward.Asperities above in the form of minute prickles, somewhat stellate.These are very minute, except along the median line of the back andtail, and there they are smaller than in R. stellulata or E. rJtina. Tailentirely prickly above. A broad band of prickles along back to inter-orbital space. Entire pectoral tin minutely prickly, rather coarsely soanteriorly. ]S"asal ridges prickly.Ventrals mostly covered with minute prickles, as is the under side ofthe snout and the region around the mouth. A row of rather coarserprickles along the edge of the disk anteriorly, on the under side.Jaws rather strongly curved. Teeth somewhat tricuspid, |-|.Length of nasal flap about half the T\adth of the. upper jaw.Body light brown, with many rather large, faint, round whitish spots,which are very distinct iu the young. A vague blackish ring at base ofpectoral.Raid cooperi is rather common from Monterey Bay to Vancouver'sIsland, and probably north to Alaska. It is often brought into themarkets of San Francisco with the hinoculata. We have seen examplesof all sizes from six inches to six feet in length. A skin of an individualsix feet in length was obtained by us at Victoria. In its stomach weretwo specimens of Gottns 2)olyacanthocephalns, each a foot long. Thus farno examples of any of the other species over 2J feet in length have beennoticed.
Table of measurements.