30 GIANT MSHES 



behind the eyes. The external gill-clefts are wide, and the 

 last two on each side are placed above the base of the pectoral 

 fin ; the gill-arches are provided with long, close-set gill-rakers 

 as in the Basking Shark {Ceiorhinus). The second dorsal fin is 

 above the anal, which is quite free from the caudal fin. The 

 caudal fin itself has a well-developed lower lobe, without a 

 notch, and, as the axis of the fin is bent strongly upwards, it 

 appears almost symmetrical. The pectoral fins are large and 

 somewhat sickle-shaped. The general coloration is brownish 

 or greyish, becoming paler on the lower parts, and the head 

 and body are covered with round white or yellow spots ; on 

 the head the spots are smaller and much closer together, 

 giving it a marbled appearance, while on the body they are 

 separated by narrow vertical streaks of the same colour. 



Grows to a length of at least 50 feet and a weight of several 

 tons. 



The single existing species (R. typus) is found in the warmer 

 parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. 



This enormous surface-swimming Shark may be readily 

 distinguished from all other forms of the open sea by its striking 

 colour pattern. It was first discovered in 1S28, when a 

 specimen was harpooned in Table Bay, South Africa, and 

 examined by Dr. Andrew Smith, an army surgeon, and a keen 

 student of South African fishes. He published the first 

 scientific description of the Whale Shark, but it was not until 

 twenty years later that his figure of the Shark appeared. Dr. 

 Smith records that the skin of this specimen was purchased 

 for £6, and was forwarded to the Natural History Museum in 

 Paris. Since that time a number of individuals of varying 

 sizes have been washed ashore or harpooned in different parts 

 of the world, but mounted skins are still rarities in museums. 

 A 38-foot specimen captured in Florida waters in 1912 caused 

 so much interest that it was skinned and stuffed and then 

 carted round the principal towns of the eastern United States. 



In spite of its huge bulk, it is quite inoffensive, and the only 

 danger to be apprehended from the largest Whale Shark is 

 an accidental bump of its head or body against the side of a 

 small boat or a blow from its powerful tail. Like the Basking 

 Shark it can be easily approached and harpooned, but on 

 being wounded it will either dive straight down or set off at 



