38 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Genus 6. CARCHARIAS Rafinesque. 
Body rather robust, the head broad and depressed; mouth inferior, with the teeth in both jaws 
strongly serrated in the adult, less so or entire in the young, those in the upper jaw broad or narrow, 
those below narrow, straight, and nearly erect; no spiracles; first dorsal large, placed not far behind 
pectoral; pectoral falcate; second dorsal small. Embryos attached by placenta to the uterus. Species 
very numerous and difficult of separation. Voracious sharks of the warm seas. 
Carcharias Rafinesque, Caratteri Alcuni Nuovi Generi, 10, 1810 (in intention). 
Carcharhinus Blainville, Journ. Phys. 1816, 264 ( commersoni ); a name based on Lae6pede’s figure of “Squalus carcharias; ” it 
apparently represents Carcharhinus lamia. 
Carcharias Cuvier, Regne Animal, Ed. 1, 125, 1817 {carcharias) . 
Eulamia Gill, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y. 1861, 401 {lamia). , 
Platypodon Gill, 1. c., 401 ( menisorrah ). 
Isogomphodon Gill, 1. c., 401 {oxyrliynclius). 
Lamiopsis Gill, 1. c., 401 (temmincki). 
a. Tips of fins abruptly jet black. 
b. Head very broad and depressed; snout very broad, rounded, and appearing pointed when viewed laterally. 
melanopterus , p. 38. 
bb.. Head elongate, somewhat narrow and depressed; snout long and narrowly pointed when viewed from above. 
phorcys, p. 39. 
aa. Tips of fins merely dusky. 
c. Snout less than one-third distance to first gill-opening insularum, p. 40. 
cc. Snout exceeding one-third distance to first gill-opening nesiotes, p. 40. 
5. Carcharias melanopterus Quoy & Gaimard. Plate 1. 
Head about 5.85 in length; depth about 7.67; width of head 1.25 in its length; depth of head nearly 
2; snout about 3 in head; interorbital space 1.5; space between tip of snout and front of mouth 2.6; 
width of mouth 2; eye 5 in interorbital space; internasal space 2; least depth of caudal peduncle 3; 
caudal 3.5 in body; pectoral 5.5. 
Body elongate, rather robust, the trunk and tail compressed; head very broad and depressed; 
snout very broad, rounded, appearing pointed when A'iewed laterally; eyes small, their posterior 
margins about midway between tip of snout and first gill-opening; nictitating membrane well devel- 
oped^ mouth large, very convex, so that the anterior margin of the mandible is below front rim of 
orbit; teeth in upper jaw broad, compressed, sharply pointed, the edges serrate and with 4 or 5 basal 
cusps behind; teeth in mandible rather long, pointed, the compressed edges smooth, without any 
serratures; nostril with a small flap, inferior, about midway in length of snout; interorbital space very 
broad, more or less convex, especially in the center, behind which the top of the head rises more or less 
gradually to back of neck; gill-openings of moderate length, close together, the posterior above base 
of pectoral; peritoneum silvery. 
Body very finely roughened when stroked forward; first dorsal with its length about equal to 
depth of body, its origin midway between that of the second dorsal and tip of snout; origin of 
second dorsal nearer origin of first dorsal than tip of caudal; anal similar to second dorsal, and below 
it, the origins of the 2 fins at the same point; caudal rather long, with a notch near its tip; length 
of lower lobe 2.2 in entire length of fin; pectoral large, margin of fin nearly straight or only very 
slightly concave; ventrals small, their origin a little nearer origin of first dorsal than that of second, 
or nearly midway between; back in front of first dorsal slightly keeled, and between first and second 
dorsals with a shallow groove; base of caudal, above and below, with pit. Another example, a female, 
gave the following measurements, recorded in centimeters: Total length 156; tip of snout to dorsal 52; 
to eye 12.8; to first gill-opening 30.5; to pectoral 36.2; length of gill-area 7.7; height of first, second, 
third, and fourth gill-slits 6.3; fifth 5.6; anterior margin of pectoral 28; base of pectoral 10.8; posterior 
margin of pectoral 27.3; axil of pectoral to ventral 36.8; anterior margin of ventral 12; free margin 
of ventral 10; base of ventral 10; axil of ventral to front of anal 13.3; base of anal 8.3; anterior 
margin of anal 10; base of anal to caudal pit 9; base of dorsal 11; anterior margin of dorsal 19.5; free 
edge of dorsal 15.3; distance between dorsals 38; base of second dorsal 7.6; second dorsal to caudal 
pit 10; upper lobe of caudal 38; spread of caudal 35.5; lower lobe of caudal 19; width of mouth 17; 
preoral length of snout 9.5; girth behind pectorals 63.5; girth at front of ventrals 53. 
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