286 Shark and Company 



rude and ungracious, the head smooth and shorn. On the shoulders, Uke the 

 cloak of a monk, were two long fins in place of arms, and the end of the body 

 was finished by a long tail ... I have seen a portrait of another sea-monster 

 at Rome, whither it had been sent with letters that affirmed for certain that in 

 1531 one had seen this monster in a bishop's garb, as here portrayed, in Poland. 

 Carried to the king of that country, it made certain signs that it had a great 

 desire to return to the sea. Being taken thither, it threw itself instantly into the 

 water. 



Today's Angel shark is seldom mistaken for a bishop or even for a 

 monk. But the fisherman in continental U.S. waters who catches an 

 Angel shark may nevertheless be confounded, for it is relatively rare. 



The western Atlantic Angel shark (Sqiiatina dumeril Lesueur, 1818) 

 reaches 4 or 5 feet in length; a 4-footer is known to weigh about 60 

 pounds. S. dumeril^ usually seen close to shore, has been known to 

 wander 75 or 80 miles offshore. It is found from southern New England 

 to southern Florida, and along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 

 It visits the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States in the summer. Its 

 haunts include the waters of Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and the 

 bays of the southern shore of Long Island. 



S. dumeril closely resembles its eastern Atlantic relative (Squatina 

 sqiiatina Linnaeus, 1758), although S. sqiiat'ma has been reported to 

 reach 8 feet and up to 170 pounds. S. squatina is said to be relatively 

 plentiful in European Atlantic waters and in the Mediterranean. 



There are about 10 known species, all generally grouped into one 

 genus because of their similarity. The western Pacific species {S. cali- 

 fornica Ayres, 1859) ranges from southeastern Alaska to Mexico, and 

 possibly to Peru and Chile. Like S. dumeril, it is known to attain a 5-foot 

 length and to weigh about 60 pounds. Other species are found in South 

 African waters, and off Australia, Japan, and Korea. 



Family Pristiophoridae—SAW Sharks 

 Although their saw-toothed snouts give them a seemingly indis- 

 putable close relationship to Sawfishes, the Pristiophoridae—the Saw 

 sharks— are true sharks. The Sawfish is no more related to the Saw shark 

 than it is to any other shark. 



Despite the saw-snout resemblance between Sawfishes and Saw sharks, 

 there are many differences between them. The Saw shark, for example, 

 has its five or six gill openings on the sides of its body, the mark of the 

 shark; the Sawfish's gill openings are on the bottom of its body, the mark 

 of the Batoid. The mutual possession of a saw-snout is, however, a clear 

 case of a parallel adaptation to life. One strange difference between 

 their snouts is the Saw shark's pair of barbels, or feelers, that droop on 

 either side of its saw (like a Fu Manchu mustache) and can trail the 

 bottom when it is searching for food. 



