ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 9 • 1999 • 2 (17) 
original scientific paper UDC 597.3(262.3-1 1) 
NEW RECORD AND SOME MORPHOLOGICAL DATA 
OF THE BASKING SHARK, CETORHINUS MAXIMUS (GUNNERUS, 1765), 
IN THE EASTERN ADRIATIC 

Aien SOLDO 
institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, HR-21000 Split, Šet. Ivana Meštroviča 63, P.O. Box 500 
Meiita PEHARDA, Vlado ONOFRI, NikSa GLAVIČ & Pero TUTMAN 
Biological institute, HR-20000 Dubrovnik, Kneza Damjana Jude 12 
ABSTRACT 
On March 23r(S 1999, a Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765), was caught in gillnet and found by fishermen near Osobljava harbour on the PeljeSac peninsula. The paper gives some morphological and meristic data and genera! information about the species and its occurrence in the Adriatic. 
Key words: Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus, Eastern Adriatic 
INTRODUCTION 

The Basking Shark, Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765), is a coastal-pelagic shark found in boreal to warm temperate waters of the continental and insular shelves, occurring well offshore and often very close to land, enters enclosed bays (Compagno, 1984). 
It has 5 extremely long gill slits that virtually encircle the whole head. The snout is pointed, with huge sub-terminal mouth. Nostrils are widely separated from mouth. Colour is grayish-brown to siaty gray, or nearly black above (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948), belly similar or lighter, often with light patches or bands on belly and under snout (Quero, 1984). Size of males is to 9 m, fe­males to 9.8 m with reported maximum of 15.2 m (Compagno, 1984; Quero, 1984; Fischer ef a!., 1987). The Basking Shark is the second largest shark, after the Whale Shark, Rhiniodon typus, and it can reach a weight of 8000 kg (Bini, 1967). It is ovoviviparous (Compagno, 1984; Quero, 1984) and it reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 years (Fischer ef al., 1987). Juveniles below 3 m long are extremely rare, but there are records of free-living individuals about 170 cm long (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948; Compagno, 1984). 
The diet of the Basking Shark consists wholly of small planktonic organisms, which it sifts out of water by means of its gill rakers (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948). It is capable of filtering over 2000 tons of water per hour assuming constant cruising speed of about 2 knots (Compagno, 1984). The Basking Shark is often seen at or near the surface, singly, in pairs, triads or in schools up to a hundred or more individuals, basking with dorsal fins out of water or even with bellies upward, or moving slowly forward or in short arcs with their mouths open like hoops while feeding. Surface basking in this shark is thought to be correlated with surface concentrations of food plankton and also with courtship and mating (Compagno, 1984). it is not considered as dangerous for humans, except if attacked. 
MATERIAL AN D METHODS 

The Basking Shark was found by fishermen near Osobljava harbour on the PeljeSac penninsula in the southeastern Adriatic on 23r d March 1999 (Fig. 1). It was caught in common gillnet. The specimen was preserved and easily identified according to Jardas (1996). Mor­phometric characteristics were measured to the nearest cm (Fig. 2). Weight was measured by a heavy balance. 
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ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 9 • 1999 - 2 (17) 
Men 5010 0 mal ; NEW RECORD AN>D"ŠOME MORPHOLOGICAL DATA OF THE BASKING SHARK, ..., 223-232 
Fig. 1: The Basking Shark caught in giilnet near the Osobljava harbour on the Pelješac peninsula.
SI. i: Morski pes orjak, ujet v mrežo Škrgarico v bližini pristanišča Osobljava na polotoku Pelješcu. 

Fig. 2: The main morphometric characteristics of the Basking Shark: TOT - Total length; Tin - Total length with 
caudal fork in normal position; PRC - Precaudal length; PDt - Pre-first dorsal length; HDL - Head length; CDM ­Dorsal caudal margin; D1H - First dorsal length; CPV - Pre ventral caudal margin; P1A -Pectoral anterior margin; 
P2A - Pelvic anterior margin. 
SI. 2: Glavne morfometrične karakteristike morskega psa orjaka: TOT - celotna dolžina; TLn - celotna dolžina z 
repno vilico v normalnem položaju; PRC. - dolžina brez repa; PD1 - dolžina do prve hrbtne plavuti; HDL -dolžina 
glave; CDM - dolžina roba zg. repne krpe; DIH - dolžina prve hrbtne plavuti; CPV - dolžina roba sp. repne krpe; 
P1A - dolžina prsne plavuti; P2A - dolžina trebušne plavuti. 

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ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 9 • 1999 • 2 (17) 
Alen SOLDO e-t s/.: NEW RECORD AN D SOME MORPHOLOGICAL DATA OF THE BASKING SHARK, ..., 223-232 
and 2.000 kg heavy specimen caught by two fishermen 
Fig. 3: Records of the Basking Shark with known position in the Eastern Adriatic: 1 -new record from the vicinity of Osobljava harbour; 2 -Ston; 3 -Korčula; 4 - Vis; 5 -Ugljan; 6 -Moiat; 7 -Peškera; 8 -Kraljeviča; 9 -Bakarac; 10 -Opatija; 11, 12 -Ičiči; 13, 14, 15 ­Gulf of Trieste. SI. 3: Zapisi o morskemu psu orjaku z znanimi najdišči v vzhodnem jadranu: 1 -nov zapis iz bližine pristanišča Osobijava, 2 -Ston; 3 -Korčula; 4 - Vis; 5 -Ugljan; 6 -Molat; 7 -Peškera; 8 ~ Kraljeviča; 9 -Bakarac; 10 ­Patina; 11,12-Ičiči; 13, 14, 15 -Tržaški zaliv. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

The Basking Shark is a relatively rare but constant species (Fig. 3} in The Adriatic (Tortonose, 1956; Bini. 1967; Miiisic, 1994; jardas, 1996). The very first record about this species was apparently made by Naccari (1822). During the 19th century, two more records were made, i.e. by Carrara (1846) and Brusina (1888). Hirtz (1909) reported about catching a Basking Shark near the island of Vis, while Vaile reported on a specimen in 1922, but stated no place of this catch. Next records were made in 1931 near Bakarac and in 1934 near Kraljeviča, while in 1937 a 3.5 m long specimen was caught in the waters of Korčula (Miiišič, 1994). The specimen caught near Kraljeviča was the largest, for it was 7.62 m long and weighed 2.400 kg (jardas, 1996). Crnkovic (1957) and Miiišič (1994) reported on a 4.70 m long specimen caught near Peškera in 1954. From 1968 there is a record of a specimen caught near Ston (2.5 m long), from 1981 of a 5.5 m long specimen caught near the island of Molat, and from 1985 of a 6.47 m long individual caught near Patina (Miiisic:, 1994). Bošnjak and Lipej (1992) reported about a Basking Shark from the Gulf of Trieste; in the same area a record was also made by Perco (1993). Two additional observations were made near lei d in 1981 and 1991 by Kovač ič (1993). The last report comes from Dulčič (1997), i.e. about a 7 m long near the island of Ugljan. 
The main morphometric characteristics of the caught specimen are given in table 1. Weight of the specimen was approximately 2.500 kg and it was a female. 
Tab. 1: The main morphometric characteristics of the caught female specimen. Tab. 1: Glavne morfometrične značilnosti ulovljene samice morskega psa orjaka. 
TOT - Total length 722 cm 
Ti n - Total length with caudal fork in 
normal position 687 cm 
PRC - Precaudai length 586 cm 
PD1 - Pre-first dorsal length 261 cm 
HDL - Head length 165 cm 
CO M - Dorsal caudal margin 135 cm 
D1 H - First dorsal length 72 cm 
CPV - Preventral caudal margin 95 cm 
PI A -Pectoral anterior margin 27 cm 
P2A - Pelvic anterior margin 29 cm 
Fig. 4: Teeth of the Basking Shark in the lower jaw. SI. 4: Zobje morskega psa orjaka v spodnji čeljusti. 
Teeth in both jaws are similar and minute (Fig. 4). Height of the teeth in the smaller specimens is 3 mm, and about 6 mm in longer specimens (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948). There are 4 to 7 functional series with 100 or more teeth in each row on each side of the jaw. Dieuzeide et a!. (1953) are reporting 2.700 teeth for an 
8.75 m long specimen. Teeth toward the center of the mouth are low and triangular, but those along the sides are conical, slightly recurved. They are somewhat com­pressed laterally, with a ridge on each side and with ba­sal part striated. At the center of the upper jaw there is a wide space with only scattered teeth, which is not the case in the lower jaw (Soldo, 1996). 
Two 2.5 m and 3.5 m long specimens are juveniles, if their lengths were reported correctly. Therefore, the foll­owing question was raised: Does the Basking Shark breed in the Eastern Adriatic? The Basking Shark is a highly migratory species (Compagno, 1984) and accord­ing to Bigelow & Schroeder (1948) it seems certain that young are produced throughout their entire range, for 
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ANNALES • Ser. hist, na t • 9 • 1999 • 2 (17) 
A!en SOLDO el si.: NEW RECORD AN D SOME MORPHOLOGICAL DATA OF THE BASKING SHARK, ..., 229-232 
small ones have been reported both from the north (Ire­land, Norway) and from the south (Mediterranean). Exist­ing records of the Basking Shark are only for individuals, so breeding can not be confirmed, but if we take into consideration that different sizes of the Basking Shark have been reported throughout the Eastern Adriatic and that gestation period is 3.5 years (Compagno, 1984), the answer can be that the Basking Shark breeds somewhere out of the Adriatic but that it is possible that occasionally it brings forth its young in the waters of the Adriatic. 
NO V ZAPS S I N NEKA J MORFOLOŠKI H PODATKO V O PS U ORJAK U 
CETORHINUS MAXIMUS {CUNNERUS, 1 765 ) I Z VZHODNEG A JADRAN A 

Alen SOLDO 
inštitut za oceanografijo in ribištvo, HR-21000 Split, Šet. Ivana Meštroviča 63, P.O. Box 500 
Melita PEHARDA, Vlado ONOFRi, Nikša GLAVIČ & Pero TUT,WAN 
Biološki institut, HR-20000 Dubrovnik, Kneza Damjana Jude 12 
POVZETEK 
Dne 23. marca 1999 so ribiči v bližini pristanišča Osobljava na polotoku Pelješac našli v mrežo škrgarico ujetega morskega psa orjaka Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765). i7 članku je navedenih nekaj morfoloških in merističnih podatkov o vrsti in o njenem pojavljanju v Jadranu. 
Ključne besede: morski pes orjak, Cetorhinus maximus, vzhodni Jadran 
REFERENCES 

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