Family: CETORHINIDAE, Basking Sharks, Basking Shark
D2 & A small
C semilunar, base with keel
teeth minute, blunt
5 gill slits extremely long (onto head)
FAMILY CETORHINIDAE
BASKING SHARKS
A large shark (~ 10 m) with a stout body, pointed snout and enormous mouth; many very small, blunt teeth with a single point; 5 very long gill slits that almost meet at the top and bottom of the head, all before the pectoral fins; gill rakers long and hair like; two dorsal fins, the first much larger and situated midway between the pectorals and pelvics; 2nd dorsal and anal fins small; tail fin nearly symmetrical, concave; tail base very depressed, with a large keel on each side.
This family contains a single, circumglobal species, which is primarily temperate and enters the northern fringes of our region.
PREPARED BY D ROSS ROBERTSON, AFTER CARPENTER (2002)
