zyg^ena. 97 



The head, from which particular part it obtains 

 its vulgar name, is comparatively thin — and re- 

 sembles, in relation to the body, a brick, laid across 

 the head of a fish. Such, indeed, is the structure, 

 that the eyes are ten, twenty, and twentyfive inch- 

 es apart, according to the size of the body, — pre- 

 cisely as it respects each other, as it would be if 

 an eye were placed in each end of the brick. 

 Without a drawing, however, it is utterly impossi- 

 ble to form a right conception of its curious form. 

 The body is brown on the back, — though gene- 

 rally partaking of the leaden, the prevailing color 

 of all the sharks. 



The species under examination, in writing this 

 article, has a falcate first dorsal fin, on the rise of 

 the back, and a second, quite small, near the end. 

 of the tail : — the entire length is short of nine 

 feet. 



Surely, if anything in animal organization, 

 seems like the result of some sport of nature, the 

 hammer-headed shark is an instance of it. If the 

 body of a large flounder, deprived of its head and 

 tail, were laid across the head of a blue shark, it 

 would somewhat resemble the gluing on of the 

 head to the body. The eyes are at such a distance, 

 that at first view, one is led to suppose it a mon- 

 strous production. 



It has been conjectured that the eyes, from being 

 7 



