Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. (IA mobot31753002848262).pdf/57

 A saw-fish measuring 23 feet 6 inches exclusive of the saw was taken in the Bay of Bengal by the Government trawler "Golden Crown" and I believe that this is the largest recorded fish. No mention is made of the length of the saw of this specimen but it is not likely to have been less than 7 feet. The largest saw in the Raffles Museum, Singapore, measures 5 ft. $10 3⁄4$ in.

BEAKED-RAYS.

(RHINOBATIDAE.)

These are harmless, sedentary, bottom-feeding fishes which subsist chiefly on shell-fish, crabs, etc. They are considered good eating and are sold regularly in the markets.

They are known to Malays as Yu kěmějan.

ELECTRIC-RAYS.

(TORPEDINIDAE.)

These Rays to which the Malays have given the descriptive names Pari kĕbas or Pari sĕbar have the power of inflicting electric shocks. "The fish" writes Dr. Günther, "gives the electric shock voluntarily, when it is excited to do so in self defence, or intends to stun or kill its prey. The electric currents created in these fishes exercise all the other known properties of electricity; they render the needle magnetic, decompose chemical compounds, and emit the spark."

Our Malayan species are very small. I have a specimen of the Pari kĕbas (Astrape dipterygia) about six inches long and there is no record yet of specimens over 18 inches.

When trawling on the Australian coast we took many specimens which appeared to be between two and three feet in length and one or two new deck hands experienced shocks which appeared to cause only momentary inconvenience.

Cantor says that out of the water they may be handled with impunity.

STING RAYS.

(TRYGONIDAE.)

Nearly all the members of this family are provided with long whip-like tails, which are generally armed with spines. In the larger kinds these formidable spines may be as much as 8 or 9 inches in length; and, as they wear out they are, from time to time, shed and replaced by new ones growing from behind.

These spines inflict very severe wounds, the pain of which is greatly increased by the apparently poisonous cutaneous mucus introduced into the wound.

The Pari běting (Trygon uarnak) attains a large size, 5 feet or more across the disk, and a weight of well over 200 pounds. In one haul of the trawl in the Bay of Bengal the "Golden Crown" took four of these fish which weighed respectively 180, 170, 160 and 122 pounds.