354 Zoological N. Y. Zoological Society. [1;19 



Figure 119 shows the Whale Shark, which had been hauled 

 up alongside the yacht. Of especial interest are the enormous 

 mouth in which a grown man is crouching, the small nasal aper- 

 tures — the left one being immediately over the man's head — and 

 the small eye immediately posterior to the angle of the jaw. This 

 is one of the figures given in Doctor Townsend's article. This 

 picture, together with a number of others, was taken by Mr. 

 Joseph N. Beck, who later sold the negatives to Mr. Brooks. Mr. 

 Brooks has sent me copies of all these photographs and through 

 his kindness, I am able to give this picture and the two following. 



Figure 120 gives an idea of the great size of this Whale 

 Shark, for the tip of the tail may be seen just under the bow of 

 the launch in the background of the picture. Note also the great 

 size of the dorsal fin, and likewise the short transverse bars on 

 the sides of the back. However, these are much better shown 

 in Figure 121, the last of the pictures sent me by Mr. Brooks. 

 Attention is also called to the first and second dorsal fins, and 

 the upper lobe of the caudal, all of which are spotted. 



With no small difficulty, even when aided by a tug, the great 

 shark was finally brought to Miami. Here it was put on a 

 marine railway and hauled up out of the water, but its weight 

 (estimated at 5 tons') was so great that it broke the timbers 

 of the railway. Figure 122 is from a post-card presented me 

 by Captain Thompson, showing this huge creature after it had 

 been hauled out of water. In the right lower jaw, the band 

 of teeth is plainly visible, and the nasal orifices and flaps are 

 well shown. The left eye is in perfect focus, as are the spots 

 which on the head are more numerous but smaller. 



Back of the eye, and only about one-half the distance of this 

 from the angle of the mouth, as it appears in Figure 122, may be 

 seen the comparatively small spiracle which is here about three 

 times longer than wide. It can also be made out on Figures 120 



^This estimate is Mr. Brooks's, while that of Captain Thompson is 

 three times as great. However, there is possibly a better way to get at 

 it and that is by the fisherman's ancient formula, which I copy from C. 

 F. Holder. This is that the length in inches multiplied by the square 

 of the girth in inches and the product divided by 800 will give the weight 

 in pounds. Taking the length at 38 feet (456 inches), estimating the 

 girth at 18 feet (216 inches), and performing the operations designated, 

 we get 2 6,69 4 pounds, or 13^/4 tons for the weight of this giant shark. 



