— 28 — 
after all is only a very small one compared with many that 
have been caught ranging from 30 to 35 feet. 
“ Both jaws are massive, the upper one square, the lower 
rounded and narrow in front but bulging at the sides. The 
outer row of teeth is an inch deep; there are 24 in the upper 
and 22 in the lower, both base and cusps serrated, and the 
former measures 25 and the latter 24 inches round the jaw. 
The extension of the jaws from the median teeth is 17 inches, 
now the bones are dry, and it was doubtless considerably 
more when the shark was alive. There are G rows of similar 
teeth lying Hat in the upper jaw and 5 in the lower equally 
formidable, all of which are said to be moveable at the plea- 
sure of the animal. No wonder the fishermen and sailors 
dread the appearance of the glistening fins of a shark near 
their boats, and what a culmination of horror it must be 
when a poor wretch is overboard and sees the head turned up 
for a strike, with the cavernous mouth extended and 13 rows 
of such teeth stending erect ! 
“I think this shark must be an old one, judging from the 
battered state of the vertical fins and the irregular and worn 
appearance of the teeth especially in the lower jaw. The co- 
lour is of a uniform dirty sandy hue. The eyes very small, 
but so placed as to command a considerable range of vision. 
t; t lt belongs to the family Carcharidcc and has the distinc- 
tive marks of a Carcli arias viz : “ Dorsal opposite space be- 
tween pectorals and centrals, without spine, a pit at root oj cau- 
dal with a distinct lower lobe, membrana niclilms present, no 
spiracle, mouth crescent shaped, teeth with staple and sharp 
cusp more or less dilated and triangular." It appears to be- 
long to the subgenus Vrionodon which is distinguished by 
having “ Some or all the teeth serrated not only on the base but 
on the edges of the cusp," (which the true Carcharias has not.) 
Every tooth in this shark is serrated, cusp and base. 01 what 
species of Drionodon 4 cannot say, as it does not correspond 
with any described species I am aware of. The whole skin is 
covered with small scales, excessively minute on the tips of 
the fins. On the head they are squarish in wavy lines not 
very close, above snout thick and compact, on the sides with 
prominent keels the centre one pointed, but they are blunter 
towards the tail. The keels on the anal fin resemble bristles 
and are so close as to show a brush like surface when seen 
through a glass. This shark with all its destructive powers is 
not exempt from foes, — foes too against which all its cruel 
weapons are of no avail. On t he tongue were found several 
parasites clinging with leech like tenacy. I hey are mottled 
olive green divided into segments like a caterpillar, with a 
