506 PISCES (CARTILAG.) PLAGIOSTOMI. [SQUALUS. 



(8. SCYMNUS, CUV.) 



195. S. borealis, Scoresb. (Greenland Shark.) 



S. borealis, Scoresb. Arct. Reg. vol. i. p. 538. and vol. n. pi. 15. 

 f. 3, & 4. S. Norvegianus, Blainv. Faun. Pram. p. 61. S. gla- 

 cialis, Nilss. Prod. Ichth. Scand. p. 116. Scymnus borealis, 

 Flem. Brit. An. p. 166. 



LENGTH. From twelve to fourteen feet, sometimes more. SCORESB. 



DESCRIPT. " Circumference (in a specimen fourteen feet long) about 

 eight feet. Colour gray : eye blue ; pupil emerald-green. Mouth wide. 

 Teeth in the upper jaw, broad at the base, suddenly becoming narrow 

 and lanceolate with the cutting edges rough; in the lower jaw pyramidal, 

 compressed, the cutting edges crenulated, a little convex on the fore-edge, 

 and subangularly concave on the hind-edge. Tongue broad and short. 

 First dorsal fin larger than the second; more advanced than the vent- 

 rals : pectorals large : ventrals elongated ; the two sides nearly parallel." 

 FLEM. According to Blainville, the general form of the body is exactly 

 similar to that of the S. Acanthias, differing principally in the want 

 of spines before the dorsal fins, and in the peculiar character of the teeth, 

 which are arranged in two rows in the lower jaw, and in three in the 

 upper. 



This species, which is the /S. Carcharias of Gunner and Fabricius, and 

 perhaps of Bloch, is a native of the Northern seas. Dr. Fleming, how- 

 ever, mentions two instances in which it has occurred in those of our own 

 Islands. One of the specimens was caught in the Pentland Frith in 

 1803 : the other was found dead at Burra Firth, Unst, in July 1824. Said 

 to be very voracious. Food, according to Scoresby, dead whales, as well 

 as small fishes and crabs. Nilsson states that it resides principally in 

 the deepest parts of the sea, rarely coming to the surface. 



Obs. It is uncertain to which of the foregoing sub-genera the following 

 two doubtful species belong. 



(39.) S. Selanoneus, Flem. Brit. An. p. 168. 



An obscure species, found (according to Fleming) by the late Dr. 

 "Walker, in Lochfyne, in Argyllshire, where it is said to appear during 

 the herring season. The following description is quoted by Dr. Fleming, 

 from the original Mss. of that naturalist. 



" Caput, maxilla subaequalis, superiore prominente, rostrata. Maxilla 

 superior crassissima, apice truncata marginata, angulo superior! obtuso 

 suberecto. Maxilla inferior angusta. Denies numerosi, acuti. Oculi 

 super cantham oris positi sunt. Corpus, octo-pedale, oblongum, tere- 

 tiusculum, cute aspera. Spiracula quinque, antico breviore, erecta, 

 lineari-lunata : margine postico curvato. Tria spiracula postica super 

 pinnam pectoralem positi sunt, duo altera ante pinnam pectoralem versus 

 oculum. Pinna : dorsum suberectum, muticum, bipinne. Pinna dorsalis 

 antica erecta, subpedalis, circa medium corporis. Pinna dorsalis postica, 

 multo minor, medium inter pinnam anticam et caudam occupat. Pinnae 

 pectorales pedem longitudine superant, et ante pinnam anticam dorsalem 

 positae sunt. Pinnae ventrales spatium ante pinnam dorsalem posticam 

 occupant. Cauda, perpendicularis, furcata, segmentis subtEqualibus 

 subacutis; superiori longiori. Sore prolate, maxillis subaiqualibus ; su- 

 periore truncata emarginata." 



From the circumstance of Dr. Walker's taking no notice either of the 

 anal fin or temporal orifices, Dr. Fleming infers the absence of both. He 

 thinks that in consequence this species may claim to rank as a new genus, 

 occupying a place between Carcharias and Lamna. 



