pisces. 399 



[Class Pisces 1 . 

 Order Plagiostomi.] 



The Grey Shark 2 [or Tope {Galeus communis, Cuv.)]. 



This shark is long and small, of a greyish colour, darker on the hack. 

 The head is flat upwards and downwards, terminating in an ohtuse 

 point. The eyes are placed upon the lateral edges. The mouth is 

 placed under the head, about halfway back ; it is of a semilunar shape, 

 having two rows of teeth in each jaw 3 . The nostrils are somewhat 

 nearer the mouth than midway between it and the termination of the 

 head, or snout ; but they are placed, with the mouth, upon the under 

 surface of the head, and their openings look backwards, perhaps to 

 prevent the rushing in of the water when swimming. The openings to 

 the gills are five slits situated in the neck between the head and first 

 fins, about half an inch from one another, decreasing backwards in size. 



It has two pairs of fins upon the body [pectoral and ventral], a single 

 one near the tail [anal], and two single fins upon the back [dorsal]. 

 The first pair are the longest, and are placed upon what we may call 

 the shoulders ; the second pair are at the anus and are small : the single 

 one is placed midway between the last and the tail : the two upon the 

 back are, the first and largest one, placed a little way further back than 

 the two lateral ones [pectorals], the second is almost placed directly 

 opposite the single one upon the belly. The tail is flattened sideways ; 

 and the finny part is chiefly beneath. 



The skin is not scaly, but is of a strong homy toughness, and very 

 rough, like a cat's tongue ; the points being all turned backward. 



All about the nose and mouth, and indeed on the whole head between 

 the mouth and snout, and about the eyes and face, there are a vast 

 number of orifices which spew out a greasy mucus, just of the consistence 

 and colour of a common jelly: and a vast quantity of the same is 

 between the nose and snout under the skin. It lies in long cells like a 

 honeycomb, parallel to one another, having large nerves terminating at 

 their bottoms. Everywhere about the head of a shark there are a vast 

 number of orifices which transmit a transparent mucus like a jelly: 

 these orifices are terminations of canals which lead to the anterior and 



1 [The following notes occupied vol. viii. of the original Hunterian MSS., entitled 

 ' On the Anatomy of Fishes.'] 



2 [The skeleton of this shark is No. 397, Hunt. Osteol. Series.], 



3 [The true number, partly concealed by the gum, is shown in the Preparation 

 No. 383 a, added by me to the Hunterian Phys. Series.] 



