944 Marvels of the Universe 
SOME REMARKABLE SHARKS 
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, F.Z.S., ETC. 
THE Shark tribe have an evil name ; nevertheless, they are a most wonderfully interesting group 
of fishes. They have a history which can be traced back to the most remote periods of time, and 
from the naturalist’s point of view are second to no other fishes in the light they throw on the 
evolution theory. 
That there are dozens of different species of Sharks in existence to-day few people probably 
suspect, and fewer still realize how extraordinarily interesting some of these are. Undoubtedly the 
two most remarkable to-day are the Hammer-head and the Elfin Shark. The first-named has 
already been described in these pages. The last is an extremely rare and little-known species, 
discovered in 1898 in Japanese waters. Its most striking feature is a long snout, which, curiously 
enough, is separated from the jaws by a deep cleft. What purpose this serves no one has been able 
to fathom, and it is absolutely without parallel among fishes. 
THE GREAT GREENLAND SHARK. 
Its average length is about twenty-six feet; but it is chiefly noteworthy for the small size of its eggs, which, further- 
more, lack the horny case characterizing the eggs of most Sharks. 
No less wonderful, in its way, is the strange Frilled Shark (Chlamydoselache), a species which, 
on its discovery in the deep sea off Japan some thirty years ago, created tremendous interest. And 
this because of its primeval character. The mouth, it will be noticed, unlike that of typical sharks, 
is at the end of the snout, while the gill-openings are bordered by curious flaps of skin. The teeth 
are remarkable, and so also is the tail, since it does not turn upwards as in other Sharks. It more 
nearly resembles some fossil sharks, in short, than any living species. A dweller in the deep seas, 
it has, since its discovery, been met with in many parts of the world ; but, so far, little has been 
discovered as to its mode of life. 
Up to the time of the discovery of the Frilled Shark the pride of place, in point of interest, was 
held by the Port Jackson Shark, a relatively small species, living, as its name implies, in Australian 
seas. It is the last representative of a race which can be traced back to remote geological times ; 
and which, moreover, as is shown by its teeth, differs in no way from its forbears of the coal period. 
These teeth, as will be seen in our illustration, are remarkable in their shape and arrangement. 
They cover the jaws in a series of nodules of varying size, which, in shape, recall orange-pips! As 
might be supposed, such teeth are used for crushing purposes, these sharks feeding on mollusca, 
whose shells are readily smashed between their grip. Of its habits nothing is known. 
Somehow the very name “ shark” conjures up visions of sudden and awful death, but species 
