Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-25

everywhere is an object of dread.
Its maximum length is 40 feet and its
teeth are three inches long. While
| there are few authentic instances OF
sharks attacking human beings (prior
to the recent tragedies), there have
undoubtedly been many cases where
| sharks simply swallowed people who
had fallen overheard. just as they
would swallow any other food. How
easy it would be for a man-eater to
devour person whole may be judged
from the finding of an entire 100
pound sealion in the stomach of a
30-foot shark on the California coast.
certain man-eater 36ls feet long
had jaws 20 inches wide. inside meas
nre, and teeth 211 inches long.
Great Fish of Scripture.
This may have been the great
f1sh' 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 cut
ting edges Ave inches long have been
found on the sea- bottom. and these
are believed by naturalists tc have
belonged to sharks not long dead.
The phosphate beds of South Carolina
yield very large fossil teeth of a
shark which was related to the man
eater of the present day. judging from
the comparative size of these teeth.
Prof. Goode thought that sharks 20
or 80 feet long must have been COM
mon.
MANY years ago a Norwegian
bishop. in learned paper, brought to
the attention of the scientific and
theological worlds a shark which he
attempted to prove must have been
the great fish that swallowed Jonah.
This was the basking shark (Ceto-
rhinus maximus), known also as the
elephant or bone shark, which is an
n n httf
casionally strays as far south as Vir-
ginia and California, and in former
years was not rare on the United
States and British coasts.
Tail Easily Crushes Boat. ~
The species has the habit at times
of collecting in schools at the SURF
face and basking in the sun, with it's
back partly out of water. 1t reaches
a maximum length of fifty feet and is
exceeded in size by only three or four
animals extant Provided with small
teeth. it feeds on fishes and floating
disposition. 1t is dangerous only by
virtue of its great bulk. and when at
tackled its powerful tail easily de-
molishes boats. In former years the
basking shark was hunted for its oil
on the coasts of Norway and Irelan ).
1t was also harpooned on the shore Of
Massachusetts in the early part OF the
last century. and as many as twelve,
barrels OF oil were sometimes obtain
ed from the liver of one shark There
are many records of basking sharks
twenty-five to thirty-eight feet long
from the coasts of New York, Massa-
chusetts and Maine, but the species I.
has not been common in our waters
in recent years.
Whale Shark 20 Feet Long. -ss
The largest of all fishes. the largo 2
est of all cold-blooded animals and l.,
h a nj oil
with the exception of a few species OF
whales. is the whale shark (rhineodon
typicusl. originally described Pfronir
Good Hope, but now known from =
India. Japan, South America. Panama. "
California and various other places. q z
small specimen having been obtained
on the Florida coast few years ago.
This shark has a very broad and OBJ =
fuse snout and an exceedingly wide
mouth armed with numerous minute 8
teeth: the dark colored body Is mxrk-ss
ed wicf many small whitish spots. =
The species is stated 10 attain a :
length Of seventy feet and is known
to exceed fifty feet" ~
Pulled Boat to Sea Bottom. ~
Notwithstanding its immense sl3e. I,
however. it is harmless to man unless :
attacked, and feeds on the smaitss
creatures for which its teeth &rea,
adapted. Its huge bulk makes n n. Il
dangerous in the same way that -
whale is dangerous. -, = :
Years ago IL was reported that
the sperm whale fishermen at the is
land of Saint Denis. in the Indian
ocean, dreaded to harpoon a whale I,
shark by mistake. and stories are :
told of a harpooned fish. having by a
lightning like dive exhausted the sup
ply of rope. which had been accident
ally fastened to the boat dived deeper :
still, and so pulled a pirogue and crew
to the bottom. =,