Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 193 



west coast of India, but elsewhere it is of no commercial importance. It is entirely harmless 

 to bathers or small boats, unless by accidental contact. 



Range. Pelagic in tropical belts of all oceans. Reliable reports of it are from South 

 Africa (type locality). Red Sea and Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, Seychelles, west coast of 

 India, Ceylon, Bay of Bengal, many localities in the Malaysian-Papuan region, Philip- 

 pines (a center of abundance), southeastern Australia, Indo-China, Gulf of Siam, Bonin 

 Islands, Japan, Paumotos, Gulf of California (especially numerous near Cape St. Lucas), 

 west coast of Mexico (taicen frequently at Acapulco), Panama-Galapagos region, coast of 

 Peru, in the Indo-Pacificj South Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Brazil, Caribbean-West Indian 

 region, Florida, and casually to New York in the Atlantic. Up to the present time, the most 

 northerly locality for it is about 42° North Latitude (near New York), the most southerly 

 locality 33° SS' South (Table Bay, South Africa). 



Occurrence in the Western Atlantic. Records of the Whale Shark in the western At- 

 lantic are distributed as follows, from south to north : Abrolhas Island, Brazil, Lat. 17° 15' 

 S. (one) j western Caribbean, between Colon and Cartagena (one) ; Haiti (one) ; around 

 Cuba J '^ central part of the Gulf of Mexico (single individuals or schools reported on eight 

 occasions) j Bahamas (a school in Tongue of the Ocean, and one at Bimini) ; Gulf Stream 

 between Bahamas and Florida j southern and eastern Florida (five) ; mouth of Cape Fear 

 River, North Carolina (one) ; south shore of Long Island, near New York (one). From 

 the foregoing, the Caribbean-West Indian region is evidently the center of population 

 for it on this side of the Atlantic. Occasional captures on the coasts of North Carolina and 

 New York show merely that Whale Sharks, like other tropical animals, occasionally stray 

 far northward beyond their normal range in the warm months. There is one report of it 

 from Bermuda."^ The fact that it is sometimes reported in schools prevents estimation of 

 the numbers actually reported up to the present. 



Synonyms and References: 



Rhincoion fjpis Smith, Zool. J., 4, 1829: 443 (Table Bay, S. Afr.) ; Garman, Mem. Harv. Mus. comp. Zool., 

 j(5, 1913: 42, 456 (descr., large Florida specimen); Herre, Philipp. J. Sci., 2(5, 1925: 116 (Philip- 

 pines); Fowler, Bull. U.S. n.it. Mus., lOO (z^), 1941: 116 (descr., synonyms, distrib.) ; Fowler, Bol. 

 Mus. Hist. N. Javier Prado, Lima, 5 (17), 1941: 220; Fowler, Fish Culturist, 21 (9), 1942: 66 (listed 

 Cuba); Bigelow and Schroeder, Guide Comm. Shark Fish., Anglo .■\mer. Caribb. Comm., Wash., 194;: 

 96 (descr., ill., range). 



Rhineodon (no specific name) Swainson, Nat. Hist. Fish. Amphib. Rept., /, 1838-1839: 142 (general); 2: 

 191, 314, 317^° (general); Gudger, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 22, 1922: 246 (a shark sucker, Remora, in its 

 mouth); Smith, Science, 62, 1925: 438 (Siam); Gudger, Nature, Lond., 131, 1933: 165 (Ceylon); 

 Denison, Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., 75, 1930: 477 (skelet.) ; Gudger, Nature, Lond., 143, 1939: 79 

 (feeding, Bahamas) ; Sci. Mon., N. Y., 48, 1939: 261 (Haiti, Gulf of Mexico). 



Rhinodon fjficus Muller and Henle, Plagiost., 1841: 77, pi. 35, fig. 2 (descr.); Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 

 Pisces, 1849: pi. 26 (descr., meas., color, ill. most often copied) ; Dumeril, Hist. Nat. Poiss., i, 1865: 428 

 (descr.) ; Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., 8, 1 870; 396 (descr.) ; Guide to Study Fish., I 880: 323 (gen- 

 era!) ; Haly, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (5) /2, 1883: 48 (Ceylon, meas.); Gunther, Nature, Lond., 30, 



15. "Caught quite often in open waters, and seen many times feeding" (person.i! communication from Luis Howell- 

 Rivero) ; also five published records. 



15a. Personal communication from John Tee-Van. 



16. Spelling on page 317 is "R/iiniodon." 



