426 
VEETEBRATA, 
THE LARGE SPOTTED DOG-FISH. 
Its flesh is indifferent food. A species resembling this, found in the south seas, is the Callo- 
rhynchus Australis. 
THE SQUALID^ OE SHAEKS. 
These are at once distinguished by their elongated, spindle-shaped bodies, their branchial ap- 
ertures placed on the sides of the neck, and their pectoral fins of the ordinary form and position. 
The symmetrical tail is large and fleshy, furnished with powerful fins, which render it a most 
efficient agent in progression ; the nose is usually conical and pointed, the mouth large, and 
armed with most formidable cutting teeth, and the upper surface of the head is frequently fur- 
nished with a pair of spiracles, although these apertures are often wanting. This group, in which 
the female is generally the largest, includes several families ; we can only notice the prominent 
species. 
Genus SCYLLIUM : Scyllium. — This includes nearly a dozen species, generally called Dog- 
Fishes. While most other sharks 
bring forth their young alive, these 
are remarkable for producing eggs 
in horny cases, the shape of which 
is represented in the annexed en- 
graving. These are deposited by 
the female shark near the shore ; 
the convoluted tendrils at each 
end hang to the sea-weed and prevent the eggs from being washed into deep water. The young 
fish ultimately escapes by an opening at the end where the head is situated. The cases of these 
eggs are popularly called Mermaid's 
Purses^ Sea-Purses, Sailor^s Purses, &c., 
and are of a pale yellowish, horny color. 
The Large Spotted Dog-Fish, S. cat- 
ulus — often called Bounce and Pock Dog- 
Fish in England — the S quale P anther e 
of the French, is two to three feet long, 
haunts deep water, and feeds on small 
fish and Crustacea. Found on the British 
shark's egg laid open to show the position of the toung fish, coasts. 
The Small Spotted Dog-Fish, S. 
canicula — called Morgay in Scotland — is about two feet long, of a slender form ; common on the 
British shores ; lives in deep water, and feeds voraciously on fish and Crustacea ; takes the bait 
freely, and is troublesome and injurious to the fisheries on account of its numbers and voracity. 
The Black-mouthed Dog-Fish, 8. melanostomum, is two to three feet long, and is found in 
European seas; common in the Mediterranean. 
Genus CAE-CHARIAS : Carcharias. — This includes about twenty species of true sharks, sev- 
eral of which are large and formidable. The White Shark, C. vulgaris, has the body elongated, 
swims with great ease, measures 
from fifteen to twenty feet, is ex- 
ceedingly voracious, and has been 
known to swallow the entire body 
of a man. It often follows ships 
for days, feeding on the offal that 
is thrown overboard. It is occa- 
sionally caught by the sailors, who 
have a mortal dread of it. In the 
stomach of these creatures a curi- 
ous assortment of articles is some- 
times discovered ; in one case the contents of a lady's work-basket, even including the scissors, 
THE WHITE SHARK. 
