I 51 ! 
The typical Sharks, Malay name ' Ikan yu," so dreaded 
by bathers, belong to the genus Carchanas^ of which about 
17 species are known from Indian seas alone. Some of these 
Sharks are said to attain a length of 25 feet, and to give an idea 
of their size Day, in his ' Fishes ' (Fauna of British India), 
mentions that the liver of a specimen of the Black-finned Shark 
{Carchanas melanoplerifs) at the GovQTnment fish-oil factory at 
Calicut weighed 270 lbs. The largest specimen exhibited, 
belonging to Carcharias dussimieri, measures barely S}4 feet, 
though it appears a formidable enough monster. It was pre- 
sented by Capt. C. J. Balfour, of H. M. ' Mercury,' in 1892. 
But the largest member of the group is the Basking Shark 
{Rhtnodon typicus). It ranges from Ceylon to the Cape of Good 
Hope and is said to exceed $0 feet in length, but is fortunately 
harmless. It has only small teeth, and its mouth is placed near 
the extremity of the muzzle, not below it, as in the true Sharks. 
It is not yet represented in the collection. 
Well-known is the liking of the Chinese for Sharks fins, 
and a considerable trade is carried on in Singapore in this 
article of food. During the year 1907 Sharks fins to the total 
amount of $276,168 were imported into Singapore, Penang 
contributing $QO,S56, Madras and the Coromandel Coast $38,670, 
Ceylon 336,545. Celebes $27,276, Sarawak $18,905, B. N, Borneo 
$14,679, and other places smaller amounts. Exported they were 
chiefly to Hongkong and Chinese ports, the former taking 
$120,712, the latter $49,042, 
Much dreaded is the Hammer-headed Shark {Zygaena 
maUeus). It grows to I4 or 1 5 feet, and has its name from the 
curious T-shaped head, the eyes being placed at the extremity 
of broad lateral processes. It brings forth living young ones, 
and Cantor in his * Catalogue of Malayan Fishes ' relates how 
in Penang, in the year 1845, he opened a female containing 37 
living young ones. 
No animal has a more frightful weapon of offence than 
the Sawfish or ' Ikan gergajL* The ' saw ' is a prolongation of 
the snout and consists of calcified cartilage, carrying a row of 
formidable teeth on either side. The sawfish uses this weapon 
by striking sideways and swallows the pieces of flesh which he 
has thus torn oiT from his prey. The various species are classi- 
fied according to the number of teeth and the structure of the 
fins. The Sawfish Pristis perroUeti has a broad and compara- 
tively short saw, with about 17 teeth on either side. The larg- 
est saw exhibited measures 5 feet 3 inches from eye to tip. 
