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



to be frightened at the approach of the boats, made no resist- 

 ance when harpooned, when shot, or when pulled to the surface, 

 swam continually in circles, and despite everything done to kill 

 it "seemed to fail to recognize that anything in particular was 

 happening to him." 



Beyond seeking to escape by slowly swimming away, this gi- 

 gantic elasmobranch rarely makes any defense. The only nat- 

 uralist who tells us anything to the contrary is Wright. He 

 says (1876) : "Men engaged at the sperm-whale fishery off St. 

 Denis often told me they dreaded to harpoon by mistake a Rhino- 

 don. A whale must come up to breathe or else choke itself. But 

 there were stories told me of how a harpooned Rhinodon, having 

 by a lightning-like dive, exhausted the supply of rope which had 

 been accidentally fastened to the boat, dived deeper still, and so 

 pulled the pirogue and crew to the bottom — where, in spite of 

 the harpoon in its neck and its attendant encumbrances, it was 

 at home for a great length of time." And Dr. H. M. Smith 

 (1909), in his interesting paper "Some Giant Fish of the Seas," 

 has a spirited picture showing the fish making the dive. 



However, Dr. Gill (1902) seems to doubt this report, which it 

 will be noted is hearsay evidence only, and to the present writer, 

 after a careful study of all the known literature of Rhineodon, 

 it seems that Wright has probably been misled. Even when 

 taken in nets (Haly, Kishinouye) there is no evidence that it 

 makes any serious defence. Undoubtedly, Rhineodon typus is 

 the mildest mannered shark that swims the seas. 



Breeding Habits. 



Of such habits there is unfortunately no record of any obser- 

 vation whatsoever. Smith's specimen (so we are informed by 

 Miiller and Henle) was a male, but in neither of his papers 

 (1829 and 1849) does he refer to its reproductive organs. 

 Wright and Haly have both dissected females, and the latter 

 expressly says that he was (vainly) hoping to find eggs or em- 

 bryos, but neither gives any information whatsoever about the 

 organs of generation. The second Florida specimen seems to 

 have been a male, but unfortunately it was not dissected by any 

 scientific person. Probably the Whale Shark is viviparous. 



