( 45 ) 



Unfortunately the form of the mouth in lost in the mounted 

 specimen ; when fresh the width of the mouth was 3 feet, but 

 shrunk to 1 ft. 11 in. in drying. " When fresh the lower jaw was 



quite straight and flat and considerably in advance of 



the upper, so that the band of teeth in the lower jaw was quite 

 uncovered." 



The teeth in both jaws consisted of eleven (in the upper) to 

 fourteen (in the lower) rows of minute, sharp, recurved denticles, 

 of equal size, 2 millimeters long.* Another specimen, 16 feet 

 long, was taken at Negombo in March, 1889, and was presented to 

 the British Museum by the Government of Ceylon. In the same 

 year one was caught, 22 feet long, off Madras, and is now exhibited 

 in the Madras Museum. 



At the end of the platform three other stuffed sharks are lying 

 on their sides ; that to the right of the Rhinodon is a fine specimen 

 of the Hammer-headed Shark {Zygcena malleus), characterized by 

 the shape of the rostrum, which is drawn out sideways into two 

 hammer-shaped lobes, at the ends of which are the eyes with the 

 nostrils near to the eyes ; that to the left of the Rhinodon is the 

 Tiger Shark or Tope (Galeocerdo rayneri), distinguished by its 

 formidable notched teeth. This shark is said to be exceedingly 

 fierce and very cunning, swelling itself out so as to appear like 

 a floating mass of animal substance, in order to decoy its prey. 

 Behind the Rhinodon there lies another shark, 9 feet long, named 

 Qinglymostoma miilleri, Giinther. Below the front window, at 

 the back of the Rhinodon, is another interesting shark, A loiJecias, 

 or Alo2nas imlpes, the Fox or Thresher Shark, which was rescued 

 by Mr. Haly from the Colombo market in February, 1884. J 



Against the adjoining north window are two sharks of the saw- 

 fish family ; the larger specimen is an example of Pristis cuspi- 

 dcUus, the smaller is Pristis perrotteti. These differ from one 

 another in the position of the first dorsal fin and in the armature 

 of the rostrum, a considerable portion of the base of which is 

 destitute of teeth in P. ciispidaius. 



A few more sharks are preserved in spirits in the adjacent 

 wall case. The skates and rays next invite attention. Over the 

 wall cases beside the north window are two examples of a large 

 Sting Ray (Trygon uarnak), and in the bottom shelf of the left 

 wall case is a Thorny-backed Ray, said to be common in the Indian 

 Ocean, called Urogymnus asperrimus. In a trough on the 



* Cf. A. Haly. Occurreuce of Rhinodon ti/picua, Smith, ou the West Coas^t Of 

 Ceylon. Ann. Nat. Hist, (fifth series), vol. XIL, 1883, pp. 48-49. 

 t (y. Day, F. Faun. Brit. Ind., Fishes, vol. 1., p. 83. 

 X Cj. Note by A. Haly in the •' Taprobanian. ' 1886, vol. I., p. 167. 



