Evening star., 1935-01-08
"HA|R Of SERPENT
ONLY GILL RAKER
Sea "Monster" on Shore Is
Identified as Huge
Basking Shark.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Ia 4AAouxkAo Ass AhAANAs4s
A specimen of the chair of sea
serpent" has Just been received by
the National Museum.
Forwarded by the American con-
sui at Prince Rupert, British Colum-
bia. through the State Department.
it is a single strand of the supposed
fur collar around the neck Of the
strange creature found partly de-
composed on the beach Of q small
island of the Pacific Coast November
10 by the captain Of q Canadian
fishing schooner. At the time 1t was
widely heralded as the body Of an
animal which, If not genuine sea
serpent, was perhaps the type Of
creature upon which the various re-
ports had been built up. The mys-
terry was increased by the early failure
of naturalists to identify it with any
known genus Of sea animal.
Identified as Gill Raker.
A single glance at the strand Of
hair" convinced DR.. Earl S. Myers,
curator of fishes at the National Mu-
scum, of the true identity of the
creature, but it already had. been
identified by DR.. Wilbert Clemens of
the Nanaimo Biological Station in
British Columbia. 1t could be nothing
else, DR.. Myers says, than one Of the
gill rakers of basking shark.
These are strands Of very fine
chitenous material, like the shell of
an insect, about a foot long, which
are inside the body Of the living
animal and serve as very fine sieve
for the minute plankton upon which
this shark feeds. They serve the
same purpose as the whale-bone
sieves of certain varieties of whales.
No other fish in the sea has just
the same arrangement.
Fish-Like Appearance Lost.
The body of this basking shark
presumably had been stranded on the
beach for several days. The neck
region had decomposed to such an
extent that the gill rakers were on
the outside and looked specifically
like a collar of fine, black hairs. The
body had lost its f1sh-lke appearance
so that it looked like some thing never
seen on earth before.
The basking shark, DR.. Myers says,
Is one of the largest of fishes, reach
ing a length of about 80 feet. It's
habitat is near the surface Of the
open ocean, and when it comes too
close to shore it is likely, like the
whale, to become stranded. It Is
not commonly known, even to sailors.
Despite its enormous size and strength
the basking shark Is harmless. feeding
only on the minute plankton or
ganisms of the ocean surface.
Make Good Fertilizer.
California fishermen, DR.. Myers said,
bring in two or three specimens of
these giant fish every year and sell
them to fertilizer companies. Inhabi-
tants of the west coast of Ireland hunt
these sharks because of the value Of
their bodies for fertilizer.
The past year has been notable for
the many sea serpent reports, with
fantastic pictures of animals actually
seen, and the identity of most Of them
can only be conjectured. This is the
only one which actually has been sub
jetced to scientific examination. It is
highly probable. National Museum
experts claim. that most OF the strange
creatures would turn out to be fairly
familiar animals If they could be seen
under favorable conditions.
Among those whose identity still is
a mystery is the Loeb Ness monster
of Scotland, of which actual photo
graphs were taken, but under such
poor conditions that they give few
clues as to the possible nature of the
animal. Many believe, however. that
the monster" is an abnormal speci-
men of a fairly common variety of
seal.