The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-07-25

had laws 20 inches wide, inside meas
ure, and teeth, two and one-half inches
long This may have been the great
fish of the scripture narrative, and it
is possible that at that time much
larger man-eaters existed than are now
known, as shark teeth with cutting
edges five inches long have been found
ON the sea bottom, and these are be-
lieved by naturalists to have belonged
to sharks not long dead. The phos-
.phate beds of South Carolina Weld
very large fossil teeth of shark which
was related to the man-eater of the
present day; Judging from the compa-
Goode thought that sharks 10 or so feet
long must have been common.
+" Many years ago a Norwegian bish-
Top in a learned paper brought to the at
tention of the scientific and theological
worlds shark which he attempted to
prove must have been the great fish
| that swallowed Jonah. This was the
basking shark (Cetcrhinus maximus)
known also as the elephant or bone
shark. which is an inhabitant of the
Ipolar seas, but occasionally Strays as
far south as Virginia and California, and
/ i'll former years was not rare on the
limited States and British coasts The
species has the habit at times of col
llecting in schools at the surface and
Ihasking in the sun with its back part
llv out of water. It reaches q maximum
length of 80 feet and is exceeded in
Isle by only three or four animals ex-
liant Provided with small teeth, it
feeds on fishes and floating crusta-
iceans, and is not of ferocious dispo-
sition 1t is dangerous only by virtue
Iof its great bulk and when attacked
Its powerfeul tail easily demolishes
boats. In former years the baslzing
shark was hunted for its oil on the
coast Of Norway and Ireland; it was al
so harpooned on the shore of Massa
: chusetts in the early part of the last
century, and as many as II barrels OF
oil were sometimes obtained from the
i liver of one shark. There are many
: records of basking sharks p to IS feet
long from the coast Of New York, Mas
sachusetts and Maine bur the species
has not been common in our waters il
!, recent years.
, The largest of all fishes, the largest
{ of all coldblooded animals, and the
| largest of all existing animals, with tn,
exception of a few species of whales
is the whale shark (Rhineodon typicus
originally described from Good Hop
; but now known from India, Soutl
| America. Panama. California and vari
Gus other places, small specimen hav
t ing been obtained on the Florida coas
E few years ago. This shark has
; very broad and obtuse snout and an eN
: ceedingly wide mouth armed with nu
4 merous minute teeth the darl1-colora
$ body is marked with many small whit
; ish spots. The species is stated to at
= tain a length of 10 feet and is know
to exceed 30 feet. Notwithstanding il
l immense size. however. il is Harmless
$ to man unless attacked. and feeds o
the small creatures for which its sma
: teeth are adapted. lis huge bul
e makes it dangerous in the same wa
a that whale is dangerous. Years az
Q it was reported that the sperm-whal
fishermen at the island Of st. Denis, j
. the Indian ocean, dreaded TO harpoo
: a whale shark by mistake. and storic
n are told of harpooned fish. "havin
l. by Il lightning like dive exhausted tn
|. supply Of rope which had been ace
r dentallv fastened to the boat, dive
+ deeper still, and so pulled pirogr
@ and crew To the bottom''