Shark. 



34 FISH GALLERY. 



is represented by a sketch of a 28 foot specimen caught off the Isle 

 of Wight in 1875, a photograph of a young specimen 1 1 feet long 

 caught off Brighton in 1903, showing the disproportionately large 

 snout characteristic of young specimens, and a piece of skin 

 prepared to show the manner in which the small, pointed denticles 

 are arranged in patches or groups. Hanging from the roof is a 

 specimen of the Basking Shark, 28 feet long, caught off Bergen in 

 1904, and below it on the floor is a cast of the skeleton of a speci- 

 men of the same size and from the same locality. Within the 

 same enclosure are the head and pelvic fins of the Isle of Wight 

 specimen mentioned above. For further information concerning 

 these specimens see page 9. 



Whale The family Rhinodontidse is a small one, including only the 



Whale Shark, Rhinodon typicus, of which a small specimen is 

 shown suspended from the roof at the other end of the Gallery (see 

 page 10 in the chapter on " Central Exhibits ") . A sketch of the 

 Shark (52) is shown in Wall-case 1, also a piece of the dental 

 ribbon (53). The Whale Shark is the largest Shark living at the 

 present day, and attains a length of 50 or 60 feet. It is widely 

 distributed and occurs mainly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 

 The snout is flattened, the mouth nearly terminal, the gill-slits of 

 moderate size, the first dorsal tin set above the pelvic fins, and the 

 eyes and the teeth very small. The last gill-slit is above the base of 

 the pectoral fin, whereas in the preceding family, the Lamnidae, 

 it is in advance of the fin. 



Wall- The Sharks of the family Carchariidse have no spines in the 



dorsal fins, and the first dorsal fin is situated opposite to the space 

 between the pectoral and pelvic fins. The mouth is crescent- 

 shaped and inferior, and the eye is provided with a nictitating 

 membrane or third eyelid which can be drawn over the exposed 

 part of the eyeball (see 67). The teeth are usually large and 

 cuspidate, and are hollow when completely formed (cf. Lamnidae). 

 No remains of undoubted Carchariid Sharks occur in strata below 

 the Eocene. In Carcharias itself the spiracle is absent ; there is 

 a pit at the root of the caudal fin, which has a distinct lower lobe ; 

 the teeth have a single sharp cusp, mostly compressed and 

 triangular, and the upper teeth usually differ much from the 

 lower. Most of the Sharks of this genus occur in tropical 



case 



o 



