42S 



VERTEBRATA. 



HAMMER-HEAD SHARK. 



THE AXGEL FISH. 



Creiius SPIXAX : Spinax. — This includes the Picked Dog-Fish, S. acanthias, one to three 

 feet lonix; as it is fxi-eedini^ly voiacioiis, and the species niinierous, it is one of the principal 

 8cuvcni;ei-s of tlie seas. It is called ^/jinous l)oi/-Fish \jy l)e Kay. Found on both sides of 

 the Atlantic. 



Genu» SCYMXl'S: Sri/mnus. — To this belongs the Greenland Shark, S. horcalis, fifteen 

 to twenty feet long, si.v to eight feet in circumference; the mouth large, the color ashy-gray. It 

 is n trreut eneniv to the whale, biting li]inj)s as big as a man's head out of its body even while 

 living. It gorges itself upon such whales as it finds dead ; it does not appear to attack mankind. 

 Its heart is snuill, beats about si.\ times in a minute, and pulsates for some hours after being taken 

 out of the body. It is unsafe to put the liand into its mouth, even after the head is severed from 

 the trunk. Its insensibility to pain is such that a knife may be run through its body and the 

 animal will still go on gorging itself with food. Besides the flesh of whales, it devours various 

 kinds of fish. It is int'ested with parasitic insects — a species of Lerncea — some of which are 

 three inches long. It is found in the North Atlantic. 



The Nurse, <S. brevipinna, is six to seven feet long, and sometimes called Sleeper, from its 

 sluggish habits. Found on the coasts of Massachusetts. 



Ginux ZYO.KXA : Zygcena. — To this belongs the Hammer-head Shark, Z. malleus, having 



a body like other sharks, but with 

 a double snout like a double-headed 

 hammer, and having an eye in the 

 middle of each extremity ; it is 

 very voracious, and from twelve 

 to twenty-five feet long. One of 

 them taken on the coast of Long 

 Island had parts of the body of a ' 

 man and his clothing, in his stom- [ 

 ach. This species is found on 

 both sides of the Atlantic. 

 Genus SQUATINA : Squatina. — To this belongs the Angel Fish, S. anqclus, w hich seems to 

 partake of the nature of both sharks and rays. Notwithstanding its name it is a hideous-Iookin<r 



creature, with two enormous pec- | 

 toral fins, said to have Q:iven it its 

 name, from a fancied resemblance 

 to the wings of ano;cls. It is three 

 to four feet long, and in Europe 

 goes under the various titles of 

 Monk- Fish, Monkey-Fish, Shark- 

 Ray, and Fiddle-Fish. Found on 

 l>oth sides of the Atlantic. 



Ge7ius PRISTIS : Fristis.— To 

 this belongs the Saw-Fish, P.an- 

 tiquorum, fifteen feet long, having 

 a body like the shark, but the 

 snout being extended like the 

 blade of a sword, with strong and trenchant teeth on both sides. This powerful weapon is 

 sometimes five or six feet long, and with it these fishes often attack whales and inflict dreadful 

 wounds. 



THE RAIID^. 



These animals are of a flat or depressed figure, the great breadth of the body being produced 

 by the singular expansion of the pectoral fins. There is no distinct head ; the tail is long and 

 slender, and furnished with two dorsal or upper fins, and sometimes with the vestige of a caudal 

 fin. The mouth and branchial orifices are on the under surface. The texture of the skin varies; 



