THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 45 



Genus CETORHINUS Blainville, 1816 



The characters of the genus are sufficiently indicated in the family 

 description. 



The basking shark rivals the whale shark in size, and like the whale 

 shark it is a sluggish creature, harmless to man, feeding on small and 

 minute forms of life strained from the water by peculiarly constructed 

 gill rakers. Its common English name is appropriate because it is 

 often seen "lying" quietly at the surface. 



CETORHINUS MAXIMUS (Gunner) 



Basking Shark 



Squalus maximus Gunner, 1765, p. 33, pi. 5, coast of Norwaj' (original description). 



Cetorhinus viaximus Garman, 1913, p. 39 (synonymy; description; range). — 

 GuDGER, 1915, p. 653 (reference to Stevenson (1902, p. 227), who reported 

 the basking or bone shark as numerous on the coast of Peru and Ecuador). — 

 Beebe and Tee-Van, 1941, p. 98, fig. 4 (range; field characters; size; refer- 

 ences; discussion). 



Halsydrus wazimus Fowler, 1941b, p. 113 (synonymy; description; range); 

 1941a, p. 222 (references; range). 



The basking shark may be recognized by its massive body; rather 

 conical snout; very long gill slits, beginning at dorsal surface and ex- 

 tending nearly to midline of throat; first dorsal much larger than the 

 second, about equidistant from pectorals and ventrals; second dorsal 

 and anal very small, opposite each other; caudal lunate, with keels 

 near base; plain gray color; and by the large size (7 meters or so) 

 attained. 



The occurrence of this shark in Peru, so far as the writer is aware, 

 has been reported only by Stevenson (see reference to Gudger above), 

 who said, "The basking shark is numerous on the coast of Peru and 

 Ecuador, and its capture gives employment to a large number of small 

 vessels, manned by 6 or 8 men each. The American vessels fishing 

 for humpback whales on that coast have occasionally engaged in its 

 capture when whales were not in sight. Capt. George O. Baker, of 

 New Bedford, reports that on one occasion in two days fishing he 

 secured 125 barrels of shark oil while on the lookout for humpback 

 whales." Presumably the report of Captain Baker was verbal, as no 

 reference is cited. It may be assumed that the fishery for basking 

 shark by small vessels is no longer carried on, or the Mission would 

 have reported it. In fact, there seems to be nothing in the report of 

 the Mission indicating that any fish as large as the basking shark were 

 seen. 



Range. — Arctic and Antarctic and the temperate seas. On the 

 Pacific coast of America it has not yet been reported from the area 

 between southern California and Ecuador, except for a doubtful obser- 

 vation near Cape San Lucas. Norman (1937, p. 7) properly has 

 questioned the identity of the repesentatives of the basking sharks of 

 the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. 



