16 



H aw aiian Fishes 



THE MAN EATING SHARK FAMILY 



Al'SO known as the Great White Shark or Mackerel Shark Family 

 3 Family Isuridae 



The man eating sharks are all of large size with stout, heavy, robust 

 bodies and slender tails. The gill slits are wide and are all placed in front 

 of the pectoral fins which are large and falcate in shape. The head of 

 these sharks is conical in shape and contains a large mouth equipped 

 with teeth and muscles which scientists say are the most complex of all 

 sharks. 



There are many fossil species in this family, but only about six species 

 are alive today. 



Two members of this family are known from Hawaiian waters. 



Niuhi or Great White Shark 



Also known as the Man Eating Shark, Mano, or White Poi-nter 



3-1 Carcharodon c arch arias (Linne) 



The nJuhi is one of the very largest and fiercest of sharks. It is said 

 to reach a length of thirty feet and some authorities claim that it will 

 grow to be forty feet in length. Jordan and Evermann report that one of 

 these sharks, which was caught off the coast of Soquel, California, measured 

 thirty feet in length and contained in its stomach a young sea lion weighing 

 one hundred pounds. 



These sharks must have reached an enormous size in ancient times. 

 The Challanger Expedition dredged up teeth of this shark which measured 

 five inches in length. Since the jaws of a thirty-six foot specimen in the 

 British Museum have three inch teeth, the five inch teeth must have be- 

 longed to a fish nearly one hundred feet in length. 



