288 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



maximus, Mitchill ; Squalus elephas, Le Sueur). Scymni. — Squalus Ameri- 

 canus*, Mitchill; Somniosus brevipinnis, Le Sueur. ZyGjEN^e.— Zygcena 

 malleus, Valenc. {Zygcena vulgaris, Smith ; Squalus zygcena, Mitchill) ; 

 Zygcena tiburo, Smith {Squalus tiburo, Penn.). Squatince. — Squatina Dume- 

 rilii, Le Sueur. Pristes. — Squalus pristis, Penn. Raije. — Raia torpedo, 

 ocellata, diaphana, centroura, and bonasus, Mitchill ; Rata batis and clavata, 

 Smith ; Raia Sayii, Desmarestii, eglanteria, Chantenay, Le Sueur ; Trygon 

 Sabinum, Cuv. {Raia Sab'ina, Le Sueur) ; Trygon micrura, Cuv. {Rata Ma- 

 dura, Le Sueur) ; Myliobatis Fremenvillii, Le Sueur; Myliobatis quadriloba, 

 Cuv. {Rata quadriloba, Le Sueur). CEPHALOPTERiE. — Cephaloptera mobular, 

 Cuv. {Ceph. giorna, Le Sueur; Cephaloptera vampyrus, Mitchill. Devil 

 ray, Penn.). From the imperfect descriptions of many of the above fish, and the 

 want of figures, we cannot be certain of the right application of the names. 



[119.] 1. Squalus (Carcharias) vulgaris. (Cuvier.) The 



TKhite shark. 



White shark. Penn., Arct. Zool., Si/ppl., p. 105. 



The sharks constitute an extensive genus, which is known by the elongated 

 body, thick fleshy tail, and pectorals of medium size, so that in their general form 

 they are not widely different from ordinary fishes. Their gill-openings and eyes 

 are lateral, their snout is sustained by three cartilaginous branches proceeding 

 from the forepart of the cranium, and their rudimentary intermaxillaries, labials, 

 and premandibular bones are readily discernible. Many of them are viviparous, 

 others oviparous. The spine is divided throughout into vertebrae, and the small 

 ordinary ribs, as well as the branchial ribs, are apparent. The sub-genera are 

 characterised principally by the form of the snout and nostrils, the presence or 

 absence of spiracles on the top of the head, the extent of the gill-openings, the 

 number and position of the dorsal fins, the existence of spines before these fins, the 

 presence or absence of the anal, and the form of the teeth, which are either cutting 

 or en paves. The carcharice, a most celebrated and numerous group, have sharp 



* It is probable that this is not the Squalus Americanus of Gmelin, which is a European species wrong named, from his 

 mistaking Cape Breton, near Bayonne, for the island of Cape Breton, in the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. — 

 Regne Animal. 



