THE DESTINY OF A BLUE SHARK 



remains nothing comparable to first-hand seeing, 

 hearing and touching.) 



Another unusual character was the external gills. 

 In the fullgrown shark five vertical slits behind the 

 head are the sum total of visible gills. In the embryo 

 there was a multitude of elongate, tentacle-fingers 

 extending far outside the body. In the ovary these 

 probably serve to absorb nourishment as well as any 

 oxygen which may be available. 



I once wrote somewhere that all sharks had sneer- 

 ing and terrifying expressions until you learned 

 they were harmless and then you suddenly saw that 

 they merely looked foolish and adenoidish. But the 

 blue shark, both in life and death, has a much more 

 pleasing and individual face. His look is of quiet 

 wonder, and if one must carry an unchanging ex- 

 pression throughout life, I know of none better ; it is 

 dignified, fearless and indicates an interest in life, 

 — and that is a happy combination. 



To many of my experiences and specimens there 

 is an aftermath of some kind. The sucking-fish and 

 copepods had been described and labelled, cata- 

 logued and preserved in their respective little jars; 

 the parent shark had, with etymological literalness, 

 been drawn and quartered, photographed, meas- 

 ured and weighed, its skin and teeth preserved ; the 

 embryos had been cared for as only scientists can 

 care for rare embryos. A week went by and as I 

 passed one evening near the spot where the great 

 jaws were put for safe keeping, I noticed a small 

 glow. It was a dark night with no lunar or astral 



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