The Sharks and Rays of Beaufort, North Carolina Volume 820-824 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 Excerpt: ...cast, another, 279.4 cm. (9% feet) in length, was captured. About this time a shark, larger than any of those taken, swam up to the one hanging from the boom, and raising its head partly out of the water, seized the dead shark by the throat. As it did so, the captain of the Fish Hawk began shooting at it, with a 32-caliber revolver, as rapidly as he could take aim. The shots seemed only to infuriate the shark, and it shook the dead one so viciously as to make it seem doubtful whether the boom would withstand its onslaught. Finally it tore a very large section of the unfortunate's belly, tearing out and devouring the whole liver, leaving a gaping hole across the entire width of the body large enough to permit a small child to easily enter the body cavity. At this instant one of the bullets struck a vital spot, and after a lively struggle on the part of the launch's crew, a rope was secured around its tail. The four specimens, all females, were brought to the laboratory for examination. The last shark was 365.8 cm. (12 feet) in length, and the liver of the smaller one was still in its stomach, the estimated weight of which was 40 pounds. At the time of capture one of the sharks regurgitated a rat, another a small shark about 61 cm. in length. As this was not saved, its identity was not determined. A shark sucker (Leptecheneis naucrates) 26.2 cm. long was also taken with one of the sharks. Mr. Coles reports the capture of an example of this species by fishermen in the bight of Cape Lookout in 1912. Family CESTRACIONTIDE. The hammer-head sharks. Genus CESTRACION Klein. KEY TO THE SPECIES. a. Head hammer-shaped; nostril with a well-developed groove extending along front of head, .zygcena aa. Head kidney-shaped; nostril with frontal groove short or obsolete tiburo...