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



from Wright and others, with a line drawing reproduction ap- 

 parently of Thurston's figure of the Madras specimen. 



The above called forth a letter from Mr. A. J. Boland in the 

 next issue of the same journal in which he speaks of having 

 seen in the Colombo Museum in 1903 a fine specimen of the 

 great spotted shark. This he thought to have been from 30 to 

 35 feet long. "Around it were placed ordinary sharks, which 

 looked like parr to salmon in comparison.^ 



Habitat. 



This singular fish seems to be solitary in habit but of wide 

 distribution. It was first reported from Table Bay, Cape of 

 Good Hope, by Smith in 1829. Next Buist (1850) writes of a 

 giant shark frequently captured at the head of the Arabian Sea 

 at Kurrachee, west of the mouth of the Indus. Later Steuart 

 (1862) reports it as not uncommon around Ceylon, as does Haly 

 (1883, '84, '90), and Thurston (1894), while Shipley and Hornell 

 record it in 1905. 



Gill (1865) records a specimen taken in the Gulf of Califor- 

 nia about 1858. While Wright notes it as abundant at the Sey- 

 chelles about 1869, as does Pike (1873) quoting from the notes 

 of Swinburne Ward. Next we hear from Chierchia (1884) 

 of its capture in Panama Bay, while in the same article Giinther 

 reports that Nation in 1878 had examined one at Callao. Next, 

 omitting Thurston's Ceylon notes (1894) already referred to, 

 but recalling the 22-foot specimen that he found ashore near 

 Madras in 1889, we find this fish reported on the coast of Japan 

 by Kishinouye in 1901. The following year (1902) Bean re- 

 corded its first occurrence in American waters and indeed in 

 the Atlantic Ocean. 



In 1902, Weber saw several in the Java Sea, while six years 

 later Van Kampen recorded it in Batavia Bay, and in 1913 Web- 

 er refers to its capture on the north coast of Java. In 1908 

 Lloyd records its first known occurrence in the Bay Bengal. Its 

 first appearance in the Philippines, so far as known, was noted 

 by Smith in 1911. And its latest occurrence, and the second in 



*For copies of the Gazette containing tliese articles, I am indebted 

 to the courtesy of Dr. C. F. Holder. 



