4 FISHES FROM BRAZIL 



Several days were spent at Lake Papary, about twenty- four miles south 

 of Natal. The lake is large and shallow, with marshy banks and muddy 

 estuaries choked with water-hyacinth, so that seining here, too, was im- 

 possible. On our account the fishermen were given permission to practice a 

 certain method of destructive fishing that is ordinarily prohibited by law. 

 The fishes were surrounded by a great gill-net, into which canoes were pad- 

 dled and the fishes taken in extraordinarily large cast-nets or driven into 

 the meshes of the gill-net. By this and the more usual methods of fishing 

 a rather large collection was taken from the lake. 



A few days were spent at Fortaleza, in the state of Ceara, with little 

 results from an ichthyological standpoint, and a couple of weeks at Para, 

 where collecting was confined to the excellent fish-market and a very good 

 collection secured. 



Several specimens were taken by Dr. Fred Baker and Mr. W. M. Mann 

 in the Madeira River during a trip taken after the conclusion of the main 

 part of the expedition. 



I wish here to especially thank Dr. J. C. Branner, chief of our ex- 

 pedition, not only for the opportunity of making this collection but also 

 to thank him, and my colleagues as well, for much help of various sorts 

 in the making of it. To Dr. Bashford Dean I am indebted for help without 

 which my participation in the expedition would have been impossible. In 

 this small paper it is scarcely possible to attempt to acknowledge much of 

 the assistance that I at various times received, but I can not forbear the 

 pleasure of here thanking Mr. Jose Joaquim de Carvalhoe e Araujo, whose 

 hospitality and influence made our stay at Papary so pleasant and profitable. 



This collection, including the types of the new species, is deposited 

 among the collections of Stanford University. A set of duplicates has been 

 sent to the American Musevun in New York. 



The accompanying plates, illustrating the new species, are from draw- 

 ings made by Chloe Lesley Starks. 



Family GALEID^. 



1. Carcharhinus platyodon (Poey). 



A specimen 29 inches in length, secured at Para, seems to be referable 

 to this species. The mouth is twice as broad as it is long and the preoral 

 part of the snout is contained 1^^ times in the space transversely between 

 the corners of the mouth. The front of the head is semi-circular in outline. 

 The fins are all more or less concave behind. The pectorals when folded 



