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Porcupine Quills
Porcupine Quills
Hystrix Africao-Australis
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Date Undated Origin Unknown Size 34mm x 20mm x 18mm Acquired March 2021 From Rosebank Market, Jhb Price R30
Sharks
“Sharks. Many varieties, all differing from ordinary fish in having cartilage in place of bones; skin covered, not with scales, but with rough denticles; teeth usually numerous; 5 to 7 gill-slits on each side; cigar-shaped body and high upper lobe of tail-fin. Length ranges between 5 and 50 feet. Most species are viviparous but the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma fasceatum) lays a few large eggs, each enclosed in a horny case (sometimes found along the sea margin). The young are born or hatched looking like the adult. Sharks can be recognized from afar by the high tail-fin and by the fact that, because the mouth is greatly under-hung, they turn over to attack and expose their light underside. Although seen scavenging round Cape harbours, they are much more plentiful off the Natal coast. The majority are dangerous. Authenticated attacks on man have mostly been traced to the 5-foot Durban Grey Shark (Carcharinus melanopterus) and the larger Black Fin Shark (C. limoatus) rather than to the 30-40-foot man-eater (Cachasodon carcharias). The 15-foot Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo articus) is aggressive but in the main an offal-eater. A 289-pounder has been caught in Natal with a rod and line.
Of the harmless species, the 40-foot Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) appears to be a Cape summer visitor, which has been seen surfacing off Simonstown and Hout Bay. Its numerous teeth are small and it lives on tiny organisms strained by its long gill-rakers. Very similar to this and the largest known is the 50 foot Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus). The first South African specimen, washed up in Table Bay in 1829, is preserved in the Paris Museum. Cape Town Museum contains a 20-foot specimen found in Noordhoek in 1934.
The shark of economic importance to South Africa is the 6-foot Vaalhaai (Galerhinus galeus), hunted for its liver oil. In Australia the fins are dried and exported to China for shark fin soup. The skin is sold for smoothing wood, for leather and for covering ornamental boxes. See Marine resources” (Rosenthal 1967:491).
Acquired Memory Fails From Memory Fails Price Memory Fails
Date Undated Origin Unknown Size 11mm x 17mm x 2mm
