June 28, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



1005 



Tha San Domingo specimen is about 14 

 inches long, to base of tail; the tail is 13 

 inches long, round and scaly, like that of a 

 rat. The long, tapered, flexible snout is naked 

 and pinkish white. The body is mostly 

 covered with, long, coarse, brown hair, which 

 becomes finer and light yellowish brown or 

 tawny on the head, shoulders and neck. The 

 hind quarters and thighs are partly naked and 

 covered with rough, wart-like excrescences 

 and irregular coarse wrinkles. The fore legs 

 are strong, with large stout claws, which are 

 less curved than in the Cuban species. 



It is nocturnal in its habits, living by day 

 in the deep holes and crevices of the cavernous 

 limestone. It feeds, in the wild state, largely 

 on insects and their larvae, tearing old logs 

 and stumps in pieces to obtain them. But it 

 will also eat the eggs and young of birds, as 

 well as various fruits, and sometimes it is 

 destructive to young poultry, it is said. In 

 confinement it is almost omnivorous and will 

 eat meat freely. This specimen is a female. 

 It gave birth to three naked young ones soon 

 after its capture, hut very soon devoured them. 

 It is said to be very stupid when pursued by 

 dogs. A. E. Verrill 



a note on the hammerhead shark (sphtrna 

 zyGjEna) and its food 

 During the third week in July, 1906, several 

 large sharks were seen, at high water, in vari- 

 ous parts of the harbor of Beaufort, N. C. 

 On the twentieth Captain Ed. Eobinson, of the 

 Bharpie Gladys, harpooned one which was 

 chasing large sting-rays (Dasyatis say is the 

 form most common at Beaufort) over some 

 sand flats. The harpoon tore out, but, when 

 the fiteh came up again, another throw was 

 more successful and the shark, which proved 

 to be a hammerhead, was secured. Practically 

 all those who have recorded the capture of 

 hammerheads have noted that when hooked 

 they made violent efforts to escape. This one, 

 when harpooned, made so little resistance that 

 Captain Eobinson in describing its capture 

 expressed considerable disappointment at the 

 tameness of the affair. This capture was 

 made in a narrow channel within two hun- 

 dred yards of the wharves of the business part 



of Beaufort. Eighteen hours later I secured 

 the fish, towed it over to the laboratory wharf 

 and swung it up by a block and tackle to a 

 davit, where it was photographed, measured 

 and dissected. 



This was the largest shark ever captured in 

 Beaufort Harbor, and it was carefully meas- 

 ured. Thinking that these measurements 

 may be of interest and value, I give the most 

 important. Length all over, 12 ft. 6 in.; 

 length of 'hammer' between eyes, 3 ft.; girth 

 at first gill-slit, 4 ft. 2 in.; girth in front of 

 pectorals, 4 ft. 2 in. ; in front of pelvics, 4 ft. 

 1 in. ; at root of caudal, 1 ft. 6 in. ; length of 

 right pectoral fin, 2 ft. 1 in.; of dorsal, 2 ft 



6 in.; of right pelvic, 1 ft. 1 in.; of second 

 dorsal, 10 in.; of ventral lobe of caudal, 1 ft. 



7 in.; of dorsal lobe of caudal, 3 ft 6 in. 

 There being no means at hand for weighing 

 the animal, estimates only could be made, but, 

 judging by the number of men required to 

 hoist it with a tackle having three pulleys, it 

 must have weighed at least 800-1,000 pounds. 



This shark was a female and was dissected 

 with the hope that embryos might be found 

 in the uteri, but all the generative organs 

 were practically unrecognizable. This was 

 due to the stones thrown dovm the gullet by 

 boys while it Was hanging overboard the 

 sharpie (the head being above water), and to 

 the churning brought about by the movements 

 of the tide and by its being successively hauled 

 up for people to inspect and let go into the 

 water again. The posterior cardinal sinuses 

 were in good condition and were as large as a 

 man's thigh. Their walls were cavernous by 

 virtue of the extraordinary development of the 

 tendinous prolongations of the lining mem- 

 brane. 



The stomach contained, in addition to the 

 stones above mentioned, an almost perfect 

 skeleton of a fair-sized sting-ray together with 

 many cartilaginous fragments plainly having 

 the same origin. However the most interest- 

 ing thing found in the beast was the great 

 number of sting-ray (Dasyatis say?) stings 

 present in the body and mouth. In the process 

 of skinning the fish, several were found in 

 the neck region and in the back. However, in 

 cutting out the Jaws for a museum specimen. 



