. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 3(i NATURAL UISTURT. THE MONK-nSH.* The Monk-fish, or Angel Shark, has a form and appearance intermediate between the Sharks and Rays. This is owing to its gi-eatly-expanded pectoral and ventral fins, which more closely approach in plan to those of the Sharks, since the bones which fonn them consist of an expanded piece which has a narrow surface approximating towards the vertebrse, and gives off from its outer margin a number of rays, so as to present some resemblance to a palm-leaf. The body is. depressed, and tapers to the tail. The hea
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 3(i NATURAL UISTURT. THE MONK-nSH.* The Monk-fish, or Angel Shark, has a form and appearance intermediate between the Sharks and Rays. This is owing to its gi-eatly-expanded pectoral and ventral fins, which more closely approach in plan to those of the Sharks, since the bones which fonn them consist of an expanded piece which has a narrow surface approximating towards the vertebrse, and gives off from its outer margin a number of rays, so as to present some resemblance to a palm-leaf. The body is. depressed, and tapers to the tail. The head, which is rounded, is .separated from the pectoral fins by a short neck, and the iiose is not at all developed in front of the mouth. The ventral fins are placed at the sides of the body just behind the pectoral fins, and the two small fins are between the ventral fins and the tail-fin. It generally remains near the bottom, and only rises in the water in pursuit of other fishes. It feeds chiefly on Flat-fish, and like them sometimes hides itself in tlie loose sand. The young are produced alive about July, when, they are about a foot long. Its length appears usually to be from four to five feet, but occasionally reaches as much as seven or eight feet. The breadth of the pectoral fin is always more than half its length. The gill- five in number, are rather wide, placed at the sides of the body towards the under surface, and partly covered by the pectoral fins. The skin is rough all over; a row of spines runs down * Ehina 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 Duncan, P. Martin (Peter Martin), 1821-1891; Metcalf Collection (North Carolina State University). NCRS. London [etc] Cassell & Company, Limited
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