ICHTHYOLOGY. 233 



Chondrop- cam'cafa. Form of the head obtusely conical, muzzle whalebone. The mouth is provided with small teeth; the Chondmp. 

 tervRii- blunt. The teeth were in three rows, two of which were muzzle projects far beyond it. Nothing has ever been terygii. 

 Selacliii. recumbent, rather than with sharp points and cutting found in its stomach except the remains of Fuei or Algae, Selacliii. 

 ^•"^"^-^ edges, and two small processes at the bases of those of in the numerous instances in which it has been captured '^'^'y""^ 

 the lower jaw. Numerous nasal pores were perceived on in various parts of Scotland. They grow to thirty or thir- 

 the snout, six of which on each side admitted a slender ty-six feet or more, and are fishes of great SLrength, but 

 probe to the depth of three inches ; but there were no are harmless, indolent, and not very sensible to slight 

 temporal apertures. A deep sulcus, eight inches long, wounds. They often lie on the surface of the water, with 

 extended from the ventrals to within two inches of the their large dorsal fin exposed, and permit the approach of 

 anal fin. This specimen was a male, with two holders, each boats until the harpoon can be securely fixed in their bo- 

 one foot two inches long, by one and a half in diameter, dies. They sometimes appear in shoals, but more cora- 

 As this species is rare, we shall give its dimensions. monly in pairs ; and enter the bays on the western and 



Feet, inohes. northern shores of Britain in the months of June and Ju- 



Extreme length along curvature of back 7 8 )y^ but retire from the land on the approach of cold wea- 



Girth where thickest 4. 8 ther. The liver of a full-grown fish has been known to af- 



Upper Up from muzzle .5 ford eight barrels of fine oil; and on this account the bask- 



Mouth along curvature of upper lip 1 1 ing shark is considered as a profitable capture. 



Eye round, in diameter 1-7 xhis is the species to which Sir E. Home erroneously 



First dorsal, placed a little behind pectoral 1 1 referred the supposed sea-snake, driven on shore in Ork- 



Second dorsal, very small, over anal 2 ney in 1808; but the enormous length of that animal, 



Anal fin ~"5 the smallnessof the vertebrae of the neck, andof its whole 



Pectorals along their curved edge 1 6 head, still preserved in the Museum of the University of 



Tail lunated, extent across tips 3 Edinburgh, prove that idea to be inconsistent with the 



Upper lobe of ditto 1 9 fact, and show that singular animal to have been some 



Lower ditto of ditto 1 3 great species of cartilaginous fish as yet unknown to na- 



Distance between ventral and anal 10 turalists,— a species in which we are to look for the proto- 



Both this and the last species have, just above the tail, type of the famous sea-serpent of the Northern Skalds, 



lateral projections, that in the centre rise into a blunt edge and the wild legends of the Sagas. 



one inch from the general surface in the middle, and de- Cestracion, Cuv. This sub-genus has the temporal 



cline gradually into the general surface at both ends, apertures, the anal fin, and rounded teeth of S. mustelus ; 



These are about eight or nine inches long. but the mouth is terminal, or at the extremity of the point- 

 ed muzzle ; the middle teeth are small and pointed, those 



With Air-Hoks and Anal Fin. at the angles of the jaw are very broad, and rhomboidal. 



Galeus, or Tope. These chiefly differ from the true The only known species is a native of the Australian 



Squall in having the temporal apertures. One species is seas, the Sq. Philippi, which has an elongated lobe on each 



found on our coasts, and is not uncommon in the Firth of side of the head. 



Clyde. It seldom exceeds, with us, five or six feet ; and o • • i ^ i r.- i ■ i a t^ < 



there is reason to suspect that the accounts sometimes ^P^'''^^ without Anal Fm, but with Air-Holes. 



given of its enormous size arise from confounding it with Spinax, Cuv. ; Dog-fish. The Sq. acanthias, one of our 



other sharks. Its skin has a very rank, offensive smell ; most common sharks, is the type of this sub-genus. It 



its colour above is light cinereous, below white ; nose has all the usual general characters of the Squali, but is 



long, flattened, and sharp at the point. The muzzle without an anal fin ; it possesses the temporal apertures, 



seems translucent toward the end ; the nostrils are near and is distinguished by a strong spine placed just before 



the mouth ; the first dorsal is placed towards the middle each dorsal. The muzzle of our piked dog-fish is long ; 



of the back, and is rather large ; the second is near the the teeth in two^rows, small, and cutting, bending from 



tail ; the tail is finned beneath, and ends in a sharp angle about the middle of the jaw toward the corners of the 



above. mouth. The tail is unequal ; the upper lobe much the 



Mustelus, Hound. This subdivision combines the longest, but the lower lobe is finned for a considerable 



characters of Carcharias and Galeus, but it has the tem- space beneath. The colour is of an ash-gray, dashed with 



poral apertures and small rounded teeth. The species brown above and white below : when young, the sides are 



are of moderate size : Cuvier thinks that Linnaeus has mottled with whitish spots, 



confounded two distinct species in his Sq. mustelus. Several foreign species, especially those described by 



NoTiDANUS, Dry-back. This subdivision is distinguish- Rafinesque, appear mere varieties of our Squalus spinax ; 



ed from Galeus, to which it has much resemblance, by the indeed this author has multiplied species on very slender 



want of the first dorsal fin. authority. 



Sq. cinereus has a pointed muzzle, seven large bran- Centrina, Cuv. So called from their strong dorsal 



chial apertures, with a smooth skin compared to most of spines. This subdivision has all the characters of Spinax, 



the family of sharks : the teeth are compressed and sharp ; as far as the spines, want of the anal fin, and possession 



the dorsal is in the middle of the back. Length about of temporal apertures ; but the body is less elongated, 



three feet. the last dorsal is placed over the ventral, and the tail is 



Sq. griseus. Colour, ash colour above, white below ; short. The best known is the 



six wide branchial apertures ; teeth large, triangular Sq. cetUrina, Linn. A species uncommon in our seas, 



above, serrated below; snout depressed and rounded; but occurring on various coasts of Europe. (Plate CCCVII. 



anal fin half way between the ventral and the tail. These fig. 6.) The mouth is far beneath the snout ; the nose is 



, two are natives of the Mediterranean. Another species blunt ; the head small ; in the upper jaw are three rows 



of this subdivision is found in the Indian seas. of teeth, and one only in the lower, all of which are slen- 



Selache, Basking Shark. Contains as yet only a single der and pointed. The dorsal fins are large ; the spine in 



species, which unites to the general form of Carcharias, the anterior pointing forward, that in the posterior is di- 



and to the air-holes of Galeus, large branchial apertures reeled backwards ; both project through the epidermis of 



almost surrounding the neck. It is the gills of this spe- the fins, 



cies that have been erroneously described as a sort of The Squalus squamosus belongs to this division. It is 



VOL. XII. 2 a 



