THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHARKS 



433 



and visible tooth there is a line of reserves, from 

 three to five in number, always growing outward 

 and crowding to the front, so that as soon as a 

 tooth in the line of battle becomes much worn, 

 or in any way weakened or broken, it is crowded 

 off the jaw, and a new tooth is thrust forward into 

 its place. 



Many sharks bring forth their young alive; but 

 others (the majority, perhaps) lay eggs. Some 

 of the egg cases are of remarkable form. Some 

 of them are rectangular, flattened, and provided 

 at each corner with a long, threadlike tendril 

 with which to attach to any fixed object. 



Sharks very rarely exhibit color patterns, or 

 bright colors of any kind. As befits pirates and 

 freebooters, they are mostly ashy gray, or drab, — 

 the most inconspicuous colors at sea, both for 

 sharks and men-of-war. The small Tiger Shark, 

 of Ceylon {Stegastoma tigrinvm), is one of the 

 few sharks of variegated colors, and its handsome 

 pattern of yellow and black is a welcome \'aria- 

 tion. 



Only a few of the whole 1-50 species of sharks 

 can rightly be classed as "man-eaters." A typ- 

 ical " man-eating shark " is one which is very large, 

 exceedingly voracious, practically devoid of fear 

 of mankind, and so aggressive that it will attack 

 a swimmer at the surface of the water, and devour 

 him regardless of his resistance. The standard 

 prey for sharks consists of small fishes, scjuid, 

 jelly-fishes, crabs, lobsters and other non-com- 

 batants. 



Occasionally, however, the big Tiger Shark^ 

 of the Atlantic chooses a victim in his own class 

 as a fighter. Dr. Goode notes the capture, by 

 Captain Atwood at Provincetown, Mass., of a 

 specimen which contained " nearly a whole full- 

 grown sword-fish;" and "ten or twelve wounds 

 in the skin of the shark gave evidence of the con- 

 test that must have occurred." 



The "man-eater shark" is not a myth, for that 

 name is applied to the great white shark, a species 

 which ranges from our Atlantic coast to Australia, 

 and on to California. In the tropics it attains a 

 length of 30 feet. With us this creature is rated 

 ' Gal-e-oc' er-do li-gri'nus. 



as "exceedingly rare," and judging from Dr. 

 Cioode's notes, not more than a dozen specimens 

 are caught and identified in a century. The only 

 loss of life from it on our coast, so far as recorded, 

 occurred in 18.30. 



It is indeed fortunate, and merciful to man- 

 kind, that sharks generally are harmless to man. 

 Were they otherwise, the terrors of the sea would 

 be greatly increased. 



The Mackerel Shark'^ is a fair type of the 

 sharks of the world. It is common along both 

 coasts of the United States, and the length of 

 fully-grown specimens is between 9 and 10 feet. 



The Hamnier-Head Shark ^ is a genuine curi- 

 osity. With no intermediate forms leading up to 

 this strange departure, the head of this creature 

 suddenly thrusts out on each side a great shelf of 

 cartilage and skin, in the outermost edge of which 

 the eye is situated! It is like a flat-headed shark 

 with a seven-inch board twenty inches long placed 

 squarely across its forehead. This species is 

 found in the seas of the tropics and subtropics, 

 practically around the world. Once when the 

 writer was approaching the coast of Barbadoes, 

 on a sailing vessel, a large Hammer-Head swam 

 for fifteen minutes close to the bow of the ship, 

 and quite near the surface. In the Ha-vana 

 market I once obtained a specimen nearly ten feet 

 long. This species brings forth its young alive, 

 and occasionally specimens are taken as far 

 north as New .lersey. 



Sizes of Sharks. — The majority of the species 

 of sharks are under 8 feet in length, and a few are 

 as small as 2 feet, when adult. The largest spe- 

 cies are the following: 



The Basking Shark (RMnodon typicus) . 4.5 ft. 

 The Bone Shark (Cetorhinus maximiis) 36 " 

 The Man-Eater or White Shark {Car- 



charodon carchariax) 30 " 



The Great Tiger Shark {Galcocerdo ti- 



griinis) 30 " 



The Hammer-Head (<S'p/!j/r??a zygae^m) . 15 " 

 The Blue Shark {Carcharias caeruleus) . 15 " 

 The Thresher Shark { Alopias imlTpes) .. 15 " 

 The Mackerel Sliark (Lamna cormibica) 10 " 

 '' Larn'na cor-nu'bi-ca. ^ Sphyr'na zy-gae'na. 



