Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 329 



Carcharias acronotus Jordan, Manual Vert. Anim. NE. U.S., 1929: 10 (general); Jordan, Evermann and 



Clark, Rep. U.S. Comm. Fish. (1928), 2, 1930: 16 (Cuba). 

 Eulamia acronotus Fowler, Monogr. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 7, 1945: 95 (N. Carolina, but 8-ft. specimen of 



250 pounds is perhaps not this species). 



Carcharhinus falciformis (Miiller and Henle), 1841 



Figures 56, 57 



Study Material. Five immature specimens, males and females, 782 to 1,065 "^^n- 

 long, from offing of Delaware Bay and of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and from the Baha- 

 mas (U.S. Nat. Mus. and Harv. Mus. Comp. Zool.) }* jaws, measurements of embryos, 

 and photographs of latter from Florida Keysj' a skin, without locality (Harv. Mus. Comp, 

 Zool., No. 1384); also photographs of Poey's unpublished drawings of this species. 



Distinctive Characters. Among the ridge-backed members of the genus, falciformis 

 resembles floridanus in the very elongate free tips of the second dorsal and anal, and in 

 the teeth, but it has a much shorter pectoral, a larger eye and a more broadly ovate snout. 



Description. Proportional dimensions in per cent of total length. Female, 785 mm., 

 fromLat. 33° 38' N., Long. 77° 36' W. (U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 38510). Male, 848 mm., 

 from Lat. 38° 37' N., Long. 73° 1 1' W. (U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 35643)- 



Trunk at origin of -pectoral: breadth 1 1.2, i i.O; height 1 1.4, 9.6. 



Snout length in front of: outer nostrils 4.5, 4.4; mouth 8.7, 8.0. 



Eye: horizontal diameter 1.9, 1.8. 



Mouth: breadth 7.9, 7.65 height 5.4, 5.1. 



Nostrils: distance between inner ends 5.8, 5.7. 



Labial furrow lengths: upper 0.6, 0.5. 



Gill o-pening lengths: ist 2.2, 2.1 j 2nd 2.3, 2.4; 3rd 2.3, 2.5; 4th 2.2, 2.4; 5th 



1.8, 1.8. 



First dorsal fin: vertical height, 7.3, 7.55 length of base 8.5, 8.6. 



Second dorsal fin: vertical height 2.0, 1.95 length of base 3.3, 3.4. 



Anal fin: vertical height 3.0, 2.9 ; length of base 3.5, 3.5. 



Caudal fin: upper margin 27.7, 28.2 j lower anterior margin 10.9, 1 1.6. 



Pectoral fin: outer margin 15.3, 14.7; inner margin 4.2, 4.25 distal margin 12.2, 



II. 8. 



Distance from snout to : ist dorsal 33.9, 32.75 2nd dorsal 63.2, 60.35 upper caudal 



72.3, 71.85 pectoral 24.5, 23.O5 pelvics 50.3, 47.75 anal 63.0, 60.7. 

 Inters-pace between: ist and 2nd dorsals 22.5, 21.65 ^nd dorsal and caudal 6.6., 

 7.O5 anal and caudal 6.2, 6.1. 



Distance from origin to origin of: pectoral and pelvics 26.8, 26.25 pelvics and anal, 



13.4, 14.8. 



6. Lat. 38° N., Long. 73° 11' W., Sept. 12, 1884, off Delaware Bay, male (U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 35643) i Lat. 33° 

 38' N., Long. 77° 36' W., off Cape Fear, North Carolina, Oct. 20, 1885, "Albatross" Sta. 2617 and 2623, 1 

 male, 2 females (U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 38509, 38510); female, Bahamas. 



7. Contributed by Stewart Springer. 



