GREENLAND SHARK. 
1169 
nostrils are similar to those of the two preceding spe- 
cies, but are set at about the end of the first third of 
the snout, measured from its tip. The broad and but 
slightly curved mouth has free corners and dee]) grooves 
outside them. The teeth (fig. 342, a and b) are most 
like those of the Sagre. In the upper jaw they are set 
in 5 — 7 transverse rows. Lateral cusps are wanting or, 
if present, small and tuberous. The base of the tooth 
is higher than in the Sagre, more quadrangular, and 
on the broad anterior surface has a terete carina, con- 
tinued to a greater or less distance on the cusp. In 
the lower jaw the first two rows of teeth are commonly 
erect, the compensatory teeth, on the other hand, the 
five or six posterior (inner) rows, directed downwards. 
Here too the lamellar base is higher, in proportion to 
the obliquely set, serrature-like cusp. In the lower 
margin it has a median sinus and on the anterior sur- 
face above the sinus a median carina, with one or more 
holes on each side. In comparison with those of the 
two preceding species the spiracles are small and set 
high. They have the appearance either of triangular 
or elongated, narrow openings, their length not exceed- 
ing the diameter of the iris. Their distance from the 
tip of the snout measures about 2 / 3 (61 — 68 %) of the 
length of the head, and their distance from each other 
about half as much (about 30 % of the length of the 
head). The gill-openings are hardly middle-sized, the 
height of the first being about twice the diameter of 
the iris, but their height gradually increases from the 
first to the hindmost opening. They differ from those 
of the two preceding forms in that the last aperture 
lies a little in front of, not quite close to, the base of 
the pectoral fin. 
All the fins are distinguished by their insignificant 
size. The two dorsals are obliquely quadrangular, 
longer than high, with the upper anterior angle roundly 
truncate and the upper posterior elongated to a point. 
The first dorsal begins at about the end of the fourth 
and ends at the termination of the fifth tenth of the 
body; the second begins just in front of the end of the 
seventh tenth and ends at the termination of the third 
quarter. The distance between the posterior extremities 
of their bases is consequently equal to that between the 
second dorsal and the upper tip of the caudal fin. This 
distance is also similar to that between the beginning 
of the pectoral insertion and the end of the base of 
the first dorsal. The caudal fin is comparatively broad, 
but short, its form being more nearly approximated 
than in any of the preceding Sharks to the Teleostean 
caudal fin. A peculiarity almost or entirely absent in 
the two preceding species is, however, that the hind 
margin is interrupted above by a shallow break, calling 
to mind the incision usually present in the other Sharks. 
The upper anterior margin of the fin measures about 
18 %, its lower anterior margin about 12 %, of the 
length of the body. Among the paired fins the ventrals 
are not unlike the dorsal fins, but the pectorals are 
quadrangular in a different manner, as if the oval form 
were truncated and concavely emarginated at the broad 
end (the top). The relative position of the ventral fins 
to the second dorsal is about the same as in the Sagre; 
they begin at a distance from the tip of the snout 
measuring about % (63 %) of the length of the body. 
The distance between the pectoral fins and the tip of 
the snout is rather more than 1 / i (26 — 28 %), and 
the length of these fins at the anterior margin about 
7 — 10 %, of the length of the body. 
The shagreen and the coloration are noticed above. 
The small spiny scales are of the same type as in 
Scymnus, and resemble in miniature the spines of Eelti- 
norhinus, but are not so densely grooved. The white 
teeth of the mouth stand off sharply, as in the Sagre, 
against the dark ground of the body. Soon after the 
Greenland Shark is drawn out of the water, the loose 
epidermis peels off, and the body assumes a bluish gray 
tint. v. Wright’s figure (PI. LII, fig. 3) represents the 
fish as it appears immediately after its capture. 
The Greenland Shark is really an Arctic species, 
its affinity to Acanthorhinus rostratus , a form observed 
in the Mediterranean and on the coast of Portugal, 
being as yet unelucidated “. Fisheries for the Green- 
land Shark have long existed on the coasts of Green- 
land, Iceland, and Norway, and in recent times Spits- 
bergen has also become a fishing-station. On the North 
American coast the species goes south to Cape Cod. 
Isolated specimens have been met with in the North 
° We need hardly remind the reader of the erroneous conceptions which stuffed specimens either of Sharks or Rays may give. With 
the other close resemblances to be observed between Acanthorhinus cavcharias and A. rostratus, it would appear quite possible that the very 
strong prolongation of the occiput in the latter, according to Capello’s (Jorn. Sc. Math., Phys., Natur., Lisboa 1869, p. 146, tab. IX, figs. 2, 
2 a, 3 h) and Canestp.ini’s (Mem. R. Accad. Sc. Torino, ser. 2, tom. XXI, p. 364, tab. II, figs. 2 — 4) figures, may be due to stretching in 
the process of stuffing. The slenderness of the body and the great size of the eyes in Acanthorhinus rostratus may be characters of youth. 
