30 June 2000 Large Porbeagle Sharks, Lamna nasus , have been spotted cruising by the south west Casquets bank north of Guernsey, Channel Islands, leisurely robbing long-lines set for Bass by biting the fish in half, with gapes of about 12 cm in the prey. A large Leatherback Turtle , Dermochelys coriacea , was discovered dead, entangled in the nets of a fishing boat a couple of miles off Plymouth in the English Channel. It was seen a quarter mile off Start Point, Devon. This is the third one in Cornish seas in 10 days - the first was off the Runnelstone. A pair of Humpback Whales , Megaptera novaeangliae were seen off Sumburgh Head, the most southerly headland of the Shetland Isles.
Chitin is the main component of the exoskeleton of all crustaceans.
The Marine Life Forum is for observations and discussion items. Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin. This book is certainly recommended to have a look at, and is especially interesting for its discussions on higher taxonomy in the light of current thinking and scientific research which may be different from the older books. The phylogentic flow charts are also a good feature. Whether it is worth the money for an addition to your Library may depend on what other books you already have in it.