CKKKXI.AND SIIAllK. 



1169 



nostrils are similar In tlmse of the two preceding spe- 

 cies, l)ut are set at aliout the end of the tii'st third of 

 the snout, measured tVom its tip. The hroad and Init 

 slightly curved moutli has free corners and deej) grooves 

 outside tlieni. The teeth (fig. 342, a and h) are most 

 like those of tlu' Sagre. In the ujiper jaw tlicA' are set 

 in 5 — 7 transverse rows. Lateral i'nsi)S are wanting or, 

 if present, small and tulierous. The l)ase of the tooth 

 is higher than in the Sagre, more quadrangular, and 

 on the broad anterior surface has a terete carina, con- 

 tinued to a greater or less distance on the cusp. In 

 the lower jaw the first two rows of teeth are commonly 

 erect, the compensatory teeth, on the other liand, the 

 five or six posterior (inner) rows, directed downwards. 

 Here too the lamellar base is higher, in propoi'tion to 

 the oblicpielj" set, serrature-like cusp. In the lower 

 margin it has a median sinus and on the anterior sur- 

 face above the sinus a median carina, ^vith one or more 

 holes on each side. In comparison with those of the 

 two preceding species the spiracles are small and set 

 high. They have the appearance eitiier of triangular 

 or elongated, narrow openings, their length not exceed- 

 ing the diameter of the iris. Their distance from the 

 ti]) of the snout measures about ''/s (61 — 68 %) of the 

 length of tlie iiead, and their distance from each other 

 about lialf as much (al)out 30 % of tlie length of the 

 head). Tlie gill-openings are hardly middle-sized, the 

 height of the first being about twice the diameter of 

 the iris, but their height gradually increases from the 

 first to the hindmost opening. They differ from those 

 of tlie two preceding forms in that the last aperture 

 lies a little in front of, not quite close to, the base of 

 the pectoral fin. 



All the fins are distinguished l)y tlieir insignificant 

 size. The two dorsals are obliquely qnadrangular, 

 longer than high, with the upper anterior angle roundly 

 truncate and the upper posterior elongated to a point. 

 The first dorsal begins at about the end of the fourtli 

 and ends at the termination of the fifth tenth of the 

 body; the second begins just in front of the end of the 

 >eventh tenth and ends at the termination of the third 

 quarter. The distance between the posterior extremities 

 'if their bases is consequently equal to that between the 



second dorsal ami the iqiper ti]> of the caudal fin. This 

 distance is also similar to that between the beginning 

 of the pectoral insertion and the end of the base of 

 the first dorsal. Tlie caudal fin is comparatively broad, 

 but short, its foi-m being more nearly approximated 

 than in any of the preceding Sharks to the Teleostean 

 caudal fin. A peculiarity almost or entirely absent in 

 the two preceding species is, however, that the hind 

 margin is interrupted above l)y a sliallow break, calling 

 to mind the incision usually present in the other Sharks. 

 The upper anterior margin of the fin measures about 

 18 %, its lower anterior margin about 12 %, of the 

 length of the liody. .\mong the paired fins the ventrals 

 are not unlike the dorsal fins, but the pectorals are 

 i]uadrangular in a different manner, as if the oval form 

 were truncated and concavely emarginated at the broad 

 end (the top). The relative position of the ventral tins 

 to the second dorsal is about the same as in the Sagre; 

 they begin at a distance from the tip of the snout 

 measuring about ^ 5 (63 %) of the length of the body. 

 The distance between the pectoral fins and the ti|) of 

 the snout is rather more than V4 (26 — 28 %), and 

 the length of these fins at the anterior margin about 

 7—10 %, of the length of the liody. 



The shagreen and the coloration are noticed above. 

 The small spin}- scales are of the same type as in 

 Scymnus, and resemble in miniature the spines of Eclii- 

 norJihiiis, but are not so denselj* grooved. The white 

 teeth of the mouth stand off sharply, as in the Sagre, 

 against the dark ground of the l)ody. Soon after the 

 Greenland Shark is drawn out of the water, the loose 

 epidermis peels oft", and the body assumes a bluish gray 

 tint. V. Wright's figure (PI. LII, fig. 3) represents the 

 tisli as it apjicars immediateh' after its capture. 



The Greenland Siiark is reallj' an Arctic species, 

 its affinity to Acanthorhinus rostratus, a form observed 

 in the Mediterranean and on the coast of Portugal, 

 being as yet unelucidated". Fisheries for the Green- 

 land .Shark have long existed on the coasts of Green- 

 land, Iceland, and Norway, and in recent times Spitz- 

 bergen has also become a fishing-station. On the North 

 American coast the species goes south to Cape Cod. 

 Isolated specimens have been met with in the North 



" We need hardly remind tlie reader of the erroneous conceptions which stuffed specimens either of Sharks or Kays may give. With 

 tlie other close resemblances to be observed between Acatithorliinus carcharias and A. roftratus, it would appear quite possible that the very 

 >trong prolongation of the occiput in the latter, according to Capeli.o's (.torn. Sc. Math., Phys., Natur., Lisboa 1869, p. 14G, tab. IX. figs. 2, 

 '-' 11, 3 b) and Canestrini's (Mem. R. Accad. Sc. Torino, ser. 2, toni. XXI, p. 364, tab. II, figs. 2 — 4) figures, may be due to stretching in 

 ihe process of stuffing. The slendemess of the body and tlic great size of the eyes in Acanthorhinus rostratus may be characters of youth. 



