Anatomy of the head and pelvic fin of the whale shark, Rhineodon. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 73, article 5.
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Abstract
"A recent dissection of the head of the whale shark, Rhineodon typus, showed the skull to be a highly specialized derivative of the more normal shark type. The more striking modifications are the great increase in size, the enlargement of the mouth and its terminal position, the widening of the neurocranium, the reduction of the teeth to minute denticles, and the development of the gill rakers into complex horny sieves. These are all habitus characters, correlated more or less directly with its diet of minute forms of pelagic life. In the fundamental or heritage characters, however, Rhineodon corresponds closely with Chlamydoselachus and other sharks. While the muscles of the neurocranium and visceral skeleton are typically selachian in their basic relationships and arrangement, they differ considerably in details of their form and attachments, as would be expected in such a highly specialized type. The pelvic fin and clasper are not unlike those of other sharks, the greatest differences being in the always variable terminal cartilages of the claspers"--P. 513-514.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 514-515).