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



the greatest error, was E. Perceval Wright. While at the Sey- 

 chelles, just prior to 1870, he dissected at least two specimens, 

 male and female, and wrote that he was able "to preserve all 

 the more important parts of each for more careful examination 

 in Dublin." That he ever did so, however, I have been unable 

 to ascertain. As to its food, here is what he says (1870) : 



" contrary to the general habits of the true sharks, it is not 



a carnivorous but a herbivorous fish." However, Steenstrup 

 (1873),' having conclusively proved that the great Basking 

 Shark, Selache (Cetorhinus) maximus, which had been thought 

 to feed on algse, is by virtue of its curious gill apparatus a feeder 

 on small marine organisms, severely criticized Wright's theory 

 of herbivorous feeding in Rhineodon. Wright, having satisfied 

 himself by study of Selache, that this animal is a carnivore, in 



1876 acknowledged his error in these words: " 1 now have 



no doubt that both these big lubberly beasts — which in their 

 mouths have scarcely more than the name of teeth — feed on all 

 sorts of minute oceanic creatures, frequently taking in with them 

 floating algse.' 



Again in 1877, Wright says, and repeats the statement in his 

 Animal Life (1879) : 



"I found large masses of algae in their stomach, so that at one 

 time I was inclined to think it was an herbivorous shark, prob- 

 ably, however, it derives its nourishment, in part, at least, from 

 minute crustaceans and other oceanic animal forms, which may 

 be taken in along with masses of floating weed, and, then eject- 

 ing the water through the strange mesh-like structures that 

 unite the edges of the great gill openings, obtain by so doing 

 enough to swallow." 



Giinther (1880) writes: " It has been stated to feed on 



tang, an observation which requires confirmation." Who the 

 author of this observation is, I have been unable to ascertain. 

 In 1884 Giinther, seemingly in ignorance of Steenstrup's and 

 Wright's discussion, cast strong doubt on the herbivorous feed- 

 ing of the Seychelles fish. Haly (1883) merely notes that "the 

 stomach contained a quantity of finely divided red matter." This 

 was probably crustacean remains. While Gill (1905) clearly 



'Both Gill (1902) and Bean (1905) erroneously attribute this ref- 

 erence to Lutken. 



