SHARK. 



GALEUS. This genus, of which only one species 

 is known, more nearly resembles the true shark than 

 the one last mentioned does. The chief differences 

 are, that this genus has air-holes, and the teeth are 

 serrated in their outer edges only. It is a long and 

 slender fish, attaining the length of five or six feet. 

 It is not very common on any part of the British 

 shores, and it occurs chiefly on the south. The 

 young are produced, all at one time, to the number 

 of thirty or more, in May or June, and they remain 

 during the winter ; but the full-grown ones leave the 

 coast at that time. They are very voracious, but 

 not nearly so injurious to the fishermen as the blue 

 sharks. 



The skin is smooth, the lateral line straight, the 

 muzzle long and flattened, the nostrils near the 

 mouth, and with valves ; the jaws are semicircular, 

 with small teeth nearly the same in both ; the gill- 

 openings small, and close together ; the pectorals 

 and first dorsal triangular ; the other body fins 

 rhomboidal ; the upper lobe of the tail short, and at 

 the extremity, the under one much larger, and 

 divided into segments ; colour bluish grey on the 

 upper part, and greyish-white on the under. The 

 flesh is not eaten ; but, as is the case with all the 

 shark family, a considerable quantity of oil is ob- 

 tained from the liver. The Common Tope is the 

 English name of this fish, and the systematic one is 

 G. vulgaris. It is not a fish that is sought after by 

 the fishermen, who give it very little thanks for its 

 appearance. 



MUSTELUS. With the exception of the teeth, 

 which are pointed and flat like those of the rays, 

 this genus very much resembles the preceding one. 

 The body is of the same shape, and the fins are 

 similar, with the exception of their terminal lines. 

 The general air of the fish is different, however ; 

 and, if the expression may be used, there is a soft- 

 ness of character about it which the former does not 

 possess. 



There is only one species, though we believe the 

 old and the young, which differ in colour as well as 

 in size, have been described as two. This species is 

 Mustelus levis " the smooth weasel fish," though we 

 believe that the Romans applied the term mustelus 

 to any fish that was long and lankjike a weasel, and 

 at the same time very voracious. This fish is found 

 occasionally upon all parts of the British coasts, but 

 not, generally speaking, in great numbers. As is the 

 case with all the fishes that hatch their eggs inter- 

 nally, it has no occasion to come to the shallow 

 water for the purpose of spawning, but only in 

 pursuit of the fishes upon which it feeds. It gets 

 various names, such as " the smooth shark," " the 

 skate-mouthed shark," and "the smoothed hound;" 

 all of which are partially descriptive. It has been 

 remarked, in the case of various land animals, that 

 there is a relation between the armature of the 

 mouth and the character of the skin. The bats, or 

 hairless dogs, which are found in Egypt, have the 

 teeth deficient ; and, whether there be any deficiency 

 in them or not, we find that the teeth and the 

 economy of the skin have a sort of common charac- 

 ter, which cannot be mistaken by any one who has 

 paid even a little attention to the subject. No one, 

 for instance, could mistake the hair of a carnivorous 

 animal for that of a herbivorous one, or the reverse ; 

 and it is exactly the same in the case of feathers. 

 There are physiological reasons why this should 



be the case, but this is not the occasion upon which 

 to enter into the particulars of them. They are very 

 valuable, however, inasmuch as they make one part 

 of an animal the index to other parts, and thus 

 greatly abridge the labour of learning. On this 

 account it is gratifying to find a confirmation of this 

 in the inhabitants of the water as well as those of 

 the air. Nothing can be more clear and striking 

 than the illustration afforded by the comparison of 

 this shark with those sharks which have the teeth 

 trenchant. The teeth here form a sort of pavement, 

 with only small tubercles, directed inwards ; and the 

 skin is not merely smooth when the finger is passed 

 along, but it is soil to the touch. 



There is still another point of resemblance worthy 

 of being pointed out. Along with the teeth of the 

 rays there is in this fish an approximation to the 

 same character of the flesh. The flesh of this 

 species is certainly inferior to that of the rays, 

 especially the true skate, but it is much better than 

 that of any of the sharks which have even the most 

 simple form of the true shark's mouth. It is pro- 

 bable that the character which the sharks have may 

 operate in making their flesh feel less palatable than 

 it would do if there were no such opinion afloat 

 concerning them. We are told what a shark eats, 

 and therefore the idea of a cannibal at second-hand 

 mixes itself up with that of a shark-eater ; and as 

 shark is the family name, all the members of the 

 family, whatever may be their food or their manner 

 of feeding, come in for their share of the prejudice ; 

 and by this means, on all parts of the coast where 

 the terrible history of the shark is known, there is a 

 prejudice against such a fish as the present species ; 

 and it is only in the remote isles, where the people 

 know little of general histories, and are thus thrown 

 upon the judgment of their own senses, that the flesh 

 of the smooth shark is esteemed as an article of food. 

 It so happens, too, that the fish is most abundant in 

 those situations. 



This fish inhabits farther down in the water, and 

 lives upon different food from the typical sharks. 

 Its mouth is a crushing mouth, not a cutting one ; 

 and, accordingly, it keeps near the bottom, and feeds 

 chiefly upon Crustacea. As is the case with the tope, 

 the young, though produced alive, are all produced 

 at nearly the same time, which is about the middle or 

 toward the end of autumn, according to the situation 

 of the place. When this operation is performed, the 

 fishes quit the shallows, or, at all events, do not verge 

 so near the surface as during the summer ; but they 

 make their appearance again in the beginning of that 

 season. They are not very prolific, for it is under- 

 stood that the average brood is not more than from 

 twelve to fifteen. 



In this genus we could have many relations, for 

 the fish holds a sort of intermediate place, or, ac- 

 cording to the phraseology of the day, it is "a con- 

 necting link." This phrase is inaccurate ; for the 

 fish is " connected," not " connecting ; " but it is used 

 by the initiated only, and of course it cannot mislead 

 them. The fish feeds at the bottom, and does not 

 range the free waters ; therefore, though it does not 

 come to the shores to spawi;, it comes up to the air 

 and light for the maturing and hatching of the eggs ; 

 whereas the sharks that range near the surface find 

 the action of the air and light there ; and when they 

 come to the shores, it is only, or chiefly, for the pur- 

 pose of feeding. This fish does come, and therefore, 



