THE SPOTTED DOG-FISH AND WHITE SHARK. 179 



water to the inclosed fish, which ultimately 

 escapes by an aperture at one end, which is 

 closed till the fish opens it. 



The small spotted dog-fish (Scyllium canicula) 

 and the large spotted dog-fish (Soy Ilium catulus) 

 are common on our coast, especially its more 

 southern portions. They usually swim low in the 

 water, and hunt for prey in troops, feeding on 

 fishes and Crustacea. Their voracity and their 

 numbers render them very troublesome to the 

 fishermen, for though they are only about two 

 feet in length, they drive shoals of larger and 

 more valuable species from their haunts ; and 

 are, besides, often caught on lines intended for 

 a different capture.' We have never known 

 the dog-fish sold in England as food, but have 

 seen it in the market of Dieppe. 



That dread of the mariner in the tropical 

 seas, the huge and ferocious white shark, 

 (Carcharias vulgaris^) is occasionally seen as a 

 wanderer near our coasts, and more frequently 

 in the Mediterranean, especially in the spring 

 and autumn. The horrible loss of life which 

 this shark has so often occasioned to bathers, 

 or to men that have accidentally fallen over- 

 board, its pertinacity in following the ship, its 

 voracity, and its tremendous struggles when 

 hauled on deck, have been often described, and 



