1915] Gudger: The Whale Shark. 381 



author to give a complete description of the alimentary organs 

 he has been quoted in full in the preceding section. We will 

 now see what he has to say as to the food of his shark and the 

 manner in which it is obtained. 



"The stomach was empty, hence the precise food of the fish 

 could not be ascertained. That a portion of it, at least, is de- 

 rived from the mollusca, &c., which are taken into the mouth 

 and pharynx, with the sea water which is required for the puri- 

 fying of the blood, is to be inferred from the branchial openings 

 being so guarded. That the fringes at the inner extremity of 

 the tubes, which exist in the branchial canals, are for the pur- 

 pose of intercepting such small animals as may be contained in 

 the water, I infer from knowing that the whale (Balsena), which 

 feeds on small mollusca, &c., has the inner edge of each layer of 

 whale bone converted into a fine floating fringe, which permits 

 the water taken into its huge mouth to escape, but intercepts all 

 objects adapted for its food. 



"When our shark proceeds to feed, the first step it probably 

 takes is to open its jaws to their full extent, in order to permit 

 the mouth and pharynx to become filled with sea water. On 

 that being accomplished, the jaws are then probably closed in 

 order that the water shall, by muscular efforts in the pharynx, 

 be propelled through the tubes in the branchiae, and forced thus 

 to leave behind it whatever mollusca, &c., it may chance to con- 

 tain. The powers of deglutition after this are probably called 

 into action, and the oesophagus, no doubt, is raised and straight- 

 ened, so as to offer a ready passage downwards to whatever shall 

 have been collected during the escape of the water. The mam- 

 millary eminences around the cardiac orifice of the stomach ap- 

 pear to indicate that some, at least, of the articles of food are 

 swallowed alive, and that they require to be bruised and also 

 prevented from re-entering the oesophagus, both of which are 

 probably effected by the processes just mentioned. The direc- 

 tion taken by the upper part of the oesophagus is evidently for 

 the purpose of enabling it the more effectively to resist the en- 

 trance of the water, when being expelled through the branchiae 

 by the muscular contraction of the pharynx." 



The man of all others who has had the greatest opportunity 

 to study the feeding and other habits, and who was guilty of 



