Page 6 Advertisements Column 1

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13767, 4 June 1908, Page 6

A rather remarkable kind of shark was caught the other day about 14 miles southeast of Timaru, by Messrs. Oddie and McCormack, who were fishing for groper in an oil launch. The shark made a great light, and the two men had to spend a couple of hours over it before getting it intc • the boat, and it was squirming for a long time after that. The capture appealed to be worth the trouble, as it was quite a novelty to them, being as much like a porpoise as a shark. Its form and colour generally resemble those of a porpoise, and more remarkable still, its tail is fluked horizontally instead of vertically. The Timaru Herald says that any fisherman glancing at it from a little distance would declare it to be a porpoise. Large eyes, gill slits, and shagreen skin, however, " give it .away as a shark on close examination. The tail is perhaps the most remarkable thing about this fish, for it is twisted from the, perpendicular to the horizontal position. _ The flukes arc nearly of the same length instead of one being very much longer than tho other, and they measure about 15in from tip to tip.