240 ZOOLOGY. 



Whatever may be the fate of the whale-bone whales, 

 it is scarcely possible that the Cachalot can suffer from 

 the attacks of these assassins ; for our present know- 

 ledge of the whale tribe will not permit us to believe 

 that any species is better provided with strength and 

 weapons than the Sperm Whale, or is more disposed 

 to employ them when molested. 



BONE-SHARKS. 



While cruising in the South Pacific, we occasionally 

 observed large animals which bore a great resemblance 

 to whales, (excepting that their tail-fin was perpen- 

 dicular, and they did not spout,) swimming near the 

 surface of the sea. They appeared to be nearly twenty 

 feet in length, and were called by the whalers " Bone- 

 sharks :" a name which implies little more than the 

 very vague idea entertained of their true character. 

 They are said to have whalebone in the mouth, yet do 

 not spout ; but partake of the nature of a shark, or 

 other fish, and, like fish, can maintain a submarine ex- 

 istence for an indefinite time. They have been oc- 

 casionally mistaken for whales, and harpooned by in- 

 experienced whalers, when, taking away the line with 

 irresistible impetuosity, they have disappeared in the 

 ocean's depths, and left their assailants to watch in 

 vain for their return to the surface. 



Since whalers religiously avoid an encounter with 

 these troublesome creatures, it follows that their real 

 form and structure are but little, if at all known. If 

 we admit that an error exists on the subject of there 

 being whale-bone in its mouth, it appears probable 

 that the Bone-shark is allied to, or identical with, the 

 Basking-shark, ( Squalus maximus,) a fish, measuring 

 from fifteen to thirty feet in length, and which was 



