JUL 29 1920 



June, 1920. The Irish Natiiralisf. 53 



NOTES ON THE BASKING SHARK. 



BY R. F. SCHARFF, B.SC, M.R.I.A. 



For several years previous to igi8 Mr. Keane of Ardmore, 

 Co. Cork, sent me notes on the occurrence and frequency 

 of Basking Sharks in Ardmore Bay. These were pubUshed 

 in the Irish Naturalist.^ He has now sent me some more 

 notes that he took in 1918. The readers of the Irish 

 Naturalist may remember that Basking Sharks grow to a 

 very large size, attaining a length of 40 feet, and with 

 their large wide mouths they present a most formidable 

 appearance. The teeth, however, are very small, being 

 useless even for biting and crushing small creatures. The 

 fact that the gills have curious lamelliform appendages 

 which project into the throat and are called " gill rakers " 

 suggests that these large sharks live on minute organisms. 

 It is supposed that, like some whales, the Basking Sharks 

 take a mouth full of water containing minute surface forms 

 of animals, which are retained in the mouth while the water 

 is strained through the gill appendages. The stomach of 

 Basking Sharks has sometimes been found to contain sea- 

 weed, and this fact has led to the suggestion that these 

 creatures may be vegetable feeders, but this is an unlikely 

 supposition. • 



The following are the notes received from Mr. Keane, 

 who left Ireland to make his home in Canada : — 



" On April 26th, 1918, about 3 p.m., a Basking Shark 

 was seen in the Bay. The salmon nets were hauled up and 

 the boats came in. During the following two days several 

 of the sharks were in the Bay. The weather on all three 

 days was hot and the sea calm. On April 29th the weather 

 changed to a stiff easterly breeze. Several sharks were 

 still in the Bay. Salmon fishing was resumed but 

 cautiously. On May 2nd one shark was seen. Strong 

 easterly wind and a heavy sea. On May 3rd a shark took 

 two nets from a boat fishing near the rocks in fairly deep 

 water. The east wind had moderated. Next day it was 

 fine and calm and the sharks were still in the Bay. 



^ Vol. xxiv., 1915, p. 171. 



