THE WHITE SHARK. 459 
interior of a very fine specimen captured near Tenby in 1839, and measuring 
more than ten feet in length, were taken no less than thirty-nine young, all 
perfectly formed, and averaging nineteen inches in length. The general 
colour of this species is greyish brown above, and greyish white below. 
THE dreaded WHITE SHARK, the finny pirate of the ocean, is happily 
almost a stranger to our shores, though a stray specimen may now and 
then visit the British Islands, there to find but scant hospitality. 
This is one of the large species thatrange the ocean,andin some seas they are 
so numerous that they 
are the terror of sailors 
and natives. One indi- - 
vidual, whose jaws are 
still preserved, was said 
tohave measured thirty- 
seven feet in length; 
and when we take into 
consideration the many 
instances where the leg 
of a man has been bit- = 
ten off through flesh HAMMER-HEADED SHARK.—(Sphyrnias zygena.) 
and bone as easily as if 
it had been a carrot, and even the body of a boy or woman severed ata 
single bite, this great length will not seem to be exaggerated. 
Many portions of this fish are used in commerce. The sailors are fond of 
cleaning and preparing the skull, which, when brought to England, is sure of 
a ready sale, either for a public museum, or to private individuals who are 
struck with its strange form and terrible armature. The spine, too, is 
frequently taken from this fish, and when dried it passes into the hands of 
walking-stick makers, who polish it neatly, fit it with a gold handle, and sell 
it at a very high price. One of these sticks will sometimes fetch six or seven 
pounds. There is also : 
a large amount of oil 
in the shark, which is 
thought rather valuable, 
so that in Ceylon and 
other places a regular 
trade in this commodity 
is carried on, 
The fins are very rich 
in gelatine, and in : 
Pande ayn re WHITE SHARK, OR LAMIA.—(Carcharodon Rondeletii.) 
manufacture of that gelatinous soup in which the soul of a Chinese 
epicure delights, and of which the turtle soup of our metropolis is 
thought by Chinese judges to be a faint penumbra or distant imitation. The 
flesh is eaten by the natives of many Pacific islands ; and in some places the 
liver is looked upon as a royal luxury, being hung on boards in the sun until 
all the contained oil has drained away, and then carefully wrapped up in 
leaves and reserved as a delicacy. 
The colour of the White Shark is ashen brown above, and white below. 
WE now arrive at the Rays. The first family of these fishes is evidentlv 
intermediate between the sharks and the skates, and is in many respects 
avery interesting and remarkable group of fishes. The common Saw-FisH 
so well known from the singular development of the snout, is a good example 
of this family. 
