The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-11-25
SOME GIANT FISHES.
Four Kinda Of Sharks which stand
In the Front Rank For Size.

your hlm0o OF Snarks which stand
In the Front Rank For Size.
OF the numerous kinds of sharks
noteworthy on account Of their size
there are four in the front rank. These
are the sleeper shark, the man eater
shark, the basking shark and the whale
shark.
The sleeper shark, whose scientific
name SOmniosus m~icrocephalus, mean
ing sleepy small headed fish, fits 1t SO
admirably, appears to have developed
its body at the expense Of it's brain, for
it is a sluggish, stupid glutton, about
six times as long as the average man.
Its home Is in the arctic regions, but it
sometimes makes visits as far south as
Massachusetts, Oregon and the British
isles. 1t is usually seen lying quietly
at the surface, apparently doing, and
is easily approached by vessels, but
sometimes when hungry it rouses itself
and goes in search Of its prey, fiercely
attacking and injuring whales, appar-
emily unconscious of the great differ
ence in their respective sizes.
One Of the largest and perhaps the
most formidable of sharks is the imam
eater" or great blue shark (Carcharo-
don carcharias). 1t roams through all
temperate and tropical seas and is
everywhere dreaded. Its maximum
length is forty feet, and it's teeth are
three inches long. While there are few
authentic records Of sharks attacking
human beings, there have undoubtedly
been many cases of sharks simply
swallowing people who have fallen ov-
erboard, just as they would swallow
any other food. How easy it would
be for a man eater to devour a person
may be judged from the finding of a
whole hundred pound sea lion in the
stomach of a thirty foot shark on the
California coast. A certain man eater
thirty-six and a half feet long had
Jaws twenty inches wide inside and
teeth two and a half inches long.
The basking shark, known also as
the elephant shark and bone shark
(Cetorhinus maximus), is an inhabitant
Of the polar seas, but is occasionally
observed as far south as Virginia and
California and some years g was
not rare on the English and New Eng
land coasts. It reaches a maximum
length of fifty feet and is exceeded in
size by only three or four animals now
alive. Provided with small teeth, 1t
feeds on fishes and floating c%rustaceans
and is not Of a ferocious disposition. It
is dangerous only because Of its great
bulk, and when attacked it's powerful
tail easily demolishes small boats. The
basking shark was formerly hunted on
the coasts Of Norway and Ireland for
its oil. 1t was also sought or the
shores Of Massachusetts in the early
part of the last century, and many of
these sharks from twenty-five to thir-
ty-eight feet long were recorded. The
liver of a large specimen sometimes
yielded twelve barrels of oil.
The largest of all fishes, the largest
Of all cold blooded animals and the
largest of all existing animals, except
a few kinds Of whales, is the whale
shark Rhineodon typicus), originally
discovered at the Cape of Good Hope
but now known in Japan, India, South
America, Panama, California and else
where, a specimen having recently been
obtained in Florida. This shark is
said to attain a length of seventy feet
and is known to exceed fifty feet.-St
Nicholas.