. Fourteen weeks in zoology. Zoology. 186 SUBKINGDOM VEETEBEATA. ORDER ELASMOBRANCHII. General Characteristics.—The Strap-gilled fishes have fixed gills and no gill-covers. Their skeleton is cartilagi- nous ; skin, rough; and the ventral fins are far back. In some families the tail-lobes are of unequal length (heterocercal). Fig. Fig. 317. PastinSca hmtata, StiEg Eay. Raiidae.—The Rays are noted for their enormous pec- toral fins, formidable tail, and tesselated teeth. They some- times weigh half a ton. The teeth are adapted to crushing sea-weed and shell-fish; while the tail, armed with
. Fourteen weeks in zoology. Zoology. 186 SUBKINGDOM VEETEBEATA. ORDER ELASMOBRANCHII. General Characteristics.—The Strap-gilled fishes have fixed gills and no gill-covers. Their skeleton is cartilagi- nous ; skin, rough; and the ventral fins are far back. In some families the tail-lobes are of unequal length (heterocercal). Fig. Fig. 317. PastinSca hmtata, StiEg Eay. Raiidae.—The Rays are noted for their enormous pec- toral fins, formidable tail, and tesselated teeth. They some- times weigh half a ton. The teeth are adapted to crushing sea-weed and shell-fish; while the tail, armed with hooked spines, can be suddenly lashed \ around an enemy, the barbs /) frightfully lacerating the flesh.* Rhinobatidae (nosed-skate). -The Saw-fish has a sword-like snout one-third the length of Tessdated Teeth of a Bay. the body, and edged with tooth- like spines. Brandishing this among a school of fishes, many are at once, disabled, and afterward eaten at leisure. * To this family belongs the famous Torpedo, which on heing touched gives a violent electric shock. It possesses a kind of voltaic pile composed of parallel prisms, 1262 of which have been counted in a single fish. The electricity has been used In galvanic experiments, as making a magnetic needle, Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Steele, Joel Dorman, 1836-1886. New York, Chicago [etc. ] A. S. Barnes & Company
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1872
