PORBEAGLE. 
1141 
opposite to each other — the former, however, a little 
further back, at a distance from the first dorsal measur- 
ing' about 28 — 26 % of the length of the body. They 
are rather small, their bases measuring about V7 — Ye °f 
that of the first dorsal fin. Their anterior (upper) angle 
is rounded, the posterior acutely elongated. The distance 
between the anal fin and the tip of the snout is nearly 
2 / 3 of the length of the body. The superior lobe of 
the caudal fin, which is of the crescent-shaped form 
that characterizes most of the members of this family, 
measures about V4 of the remaining length of the body, 
and is strongly curved in an upward direction, with a 
pointed and exceedingly small terminal lobe. The in- 
ferior lobe, on the other hand, is larger than in most 
of the other Sharks, at, least somewhat more than half 
as long as the superior. The pectoral fins are from 
1 Yjj times to nearly twice as long as the anterior mar- 
gin of the first dorsal fin, and their length is rather 
more than 7c — Vs °f the entire length of the body or 
about equal to the distance from their base to the cor- 
ner of the mouth. Their breadth is somewhat more 
than half their length. The ventral fins are small, with 
the outer angle obtuse and the posterior acute. Their 
length throughout the inner margin (the base together 
with the posterior lobe) is about S 1 / 2 % of the length 
of the body. They are set a little behind the middle 
of the body. 
Besides the pterygopodia of the males — which in 
a specimen 22 1 / i dm. long were 247 mm. in length 
and 25 mm. in diameter — Sundevall remarked that 
it appeared to him as if another external sexual cha- 
racter were expressed in the form of the second dorsal 
and the anal fins, which seemed to have the pos- 
terior tip much more elongated in the males than in 
the females. 
The coloration is above of a blue-black gray, un- 
derneath white, the posterior angles of the dorsal fins 
being also whitish. The iris is dark brown. 
The Porbeagle is somewhat variable in form. In a 
number of cases, both male and female, the body is 
rather slender (greatest, depth 1 / 1 — 1 / e of the entire 
length), the dorsal fin comparatively high and rectilinear, 
the snout short and narrow (length of the snout in adult 
specimens about 1 / 5 of the distance between its tip and 
the pectoral fins), the inferior caudal lobe % as long as 
the superior, or even more, and the hindmost gill- 
opening distinctly oblique. This form is apparently 
the commoner. Other specimens present the appearance 
shown in our figure (Plate LI, fig. 1). They are thicker 
(greatest depth up to ;1 / 5 °f the entire length), with 
somewhat larger head and thicker, longer snout (length 
of the snout up to 1 / i of the distance between its tip 
and the pectoral fins), with the inferior caudal lobe little 
more than half as long as the superior, and with the 
hindmost gill-opening somewhat, less oblique. This latter 
form seems in general to be characteristic of youth. 
Our figure was drawn in Bohuskln from a young spe- 
cimen 13 V 3 dm. long. But that this form has repre- 
sentatives even among full-grown Porbeagles, seems 
probable from the descriptions given by the authors 
cited above (in the synonymy) of Squalus monensis, 
whereof Yarrell mentions a specimen 29 dm. long. 
The remaining alterations of growth consist prin- 
cipally in the relative reduction with age of the snout 
and eyes and the furnishing of the teeth with basal 
cusps, which are wanting in the smallest specimens, but 
in Porbeagles 13 dm. long are already quite distinct. 
The Porbeagle is the only one among the large 
Sharks that appears with any frequency in the south 
of the Cattegat; but it, is far from common on the coasts 
of Sweden. It- occasionally makes its way through the 
Sound into the Baltic, and it has been met with, ac- 
cording to Mela, even in the vicinity of Aland. Along 
the Norwegian coast it, occurs up to Finmark, where it 
is found rather often, according to Collett, except to 
the extreme north. Its ordinary name in Norway, as 
in Bohuslan, is ffdbrand; but it, is said to be some- 
times coupled with the Greenland Shark under the name 
of Hdmcir. As it had no Danish name, Kroyer called 
it Sillhaj (Herring Shark). The Porbeagle is dispersed 
throughout the North Sea, though it is not so common 
there as on the west coasts of the United Kingdom and 
France; and its greatest development seems to be at- 
tained in the Mediterranean. On the other side of the 
Atlantic it has been found off the east coast, of the 
United States; and according to Muller and IIenle’s 
determination of the jaws sent, by Burger from Japan 
to the Museum of Leyden, the Porbeagle also occurs in 
the Pacific off the Japanese coasts. Haast includes 
the species among the fishes of New Zealand. 
The appearance of the Porbeagle is even more re- 
pulsive than that of other Sharks. It emits an ex- 
tremely disagreeable, fetid smell, and the surface of the 
body, which is yielding and at several spots flabby, 
acquires a dirty look from the secretion of tough mu- 
cus. This is especially copious at all the orifices, and 
