II. The Families of Hawaiian Fishes 

 THE CAT SHARK OR ROSETTE SHARK FAMILY 



1 Family Scylliorhinidae 



The cat sharks are all small in size and spotted in color and may be 

 recognized by the fact that they have a broad mouth which is filled with 

 small, closely set teeth and also by the fact that their fins are without 

 spines. In addition, they always have the first dorsal fin placed directly 

 above the ventral fins, and their tails are not keeled or bent upward as 

 in many other sharks. 



They are the most primitive of present day sharks and are usually 

 found in rather deep water. They lay their eggs in a rectangular egg case 

 which has long prehensile tubes at its four corners. In this Qgg case the 

 young sharks grow until they are able to swim; then they break through 

 its walls and swim away. 



The members of this family are found most commonly in warm, 

 tropical waters. 



The cat sharks have but one known representative in Hawaiian waters 

 and of' this representative only one specimen was ever taken. 



Hawaiian Cat Shark 



1-1 Apristurus spongiceps (Gilbert) 

 The Hawaiian cat shark is known from a single specimen which was 

 caught near Nihoa in the Leeward Islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago. 

 The shark, a mature female, was caught in a dredge between 313 and 800 

 fathoms. It was of a uniformly brown color and measured about twenty 

 inches in length. 



THE WHALE SHARK FAMILY 



2 Family Rhine odontidae 

 This family contains a single species known as tlie Whale Shark. It 

 is a rare fish of immense size and is probably a wanderer into Hawaiian 

 waters. 



Whale Shark 



Also known as the Basking Shark or Bone Shark 



2-1 Rhineodon typus Andrew Smith 



Plate I, Figure 2 



The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Although larger 

 fishes may have existed in ancient times, the whale shark has no equal 



