318 Shark and Company 



The only embryo and egg case of the Whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) known to have 

 been recorded was reported by J. L. Baughman of the Texas Game and Fish Commis- 

 sion in 1955. The huge egg case with a perfect embryo inside was found off the Texas 

 coast. The ruler gives a concept of its size. Note that the embryo has the distinctive 

 marking of the Whale shark. Courtesy, Texas Game and Fish Commission 



king-sized egg case (27 inches long by 16 inches wide) finally proved 

 that the Whale shark brings forth its progeny via egg capsules. 



Whale sharks are pelagic in the tropical seas of the Atlantic, the 

 Pacific, and the Indian Oceans. But they have been caught as far north 

 as Long Island, New York, and one collided with a ship about 380 miles 

 east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 



Family Scyliorhinidae— Cat Sharks 

 This is a vast and perplexing family. Ichthyologists do not agree 

 on how many species there are— except to say that there are many 

 and that they range the oceans of the world. Their common names are 

 confusing. Some sharks which the British call Dogfish are actually 

 members of this Cat shark family. And the same bewildering semantics 

 apply to one of the sharks called Dogfish in the United States! 



The Cat shark, going under the name of Dogfish in U.S. Atlantic 



