ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 11 • 2001 - 1 (23) professional paper UDC 591.5:597(262) received: 13.5.2001 IN RELATION TO THE CAPTURES OF A GREAT WHITE SHARK, CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS (LINNAEUS, 1758), AND A SHORTFIN MAKO, ISURUS OXYRINCHUS RAFINESQUE, 1809, ¡N THE MESSINA STRAIT Antonio CELONA Aquastudio Research institute, IT-98121 Messina, Via Trapani 6 Nicola DONATO Dipartimento di Biología Anímale oil F.coíogia Marina, Universitá di Messina, 11-98166 Messina, Via Sperone 35 Alessandro DE MA ODA i EN A Italian Great White Shark Data Bank {Banca Daíi fíaítana Squalo Bianco), IT-20144 Milano, Via V. Foppa 25 E-mail: ademaddaiena@tiscaiirset.it ABSTRACT We developed a critical revision of some incorrect data recently reported by Ferguson et al. (2000) in relation to the two captures of sharks in the waters near Ganzirri (Messina Strait, Italy) and their stomach contents. A specimen caught in 1963, reported by Fergusson et al. (2000) as a white shark Carcharodon carcharías having in its stomach a marine turtle Caretta caretta, vv-is in fact a shortfin mako tsurus oxyrinchus having in the stomach a bow-net and some buttons. The other, a white shark caught in 1965, had in its stomach remains of marine turtle Caretta caretta, and not an ocean sun fish Mola mola as erroneously reported by Fergusson et al. (2000). Key words: Carcharodon carcharías, Isurus oxyrinchus, Caretta caretta, Mola mola, Mediterranean Sea IN RELAZIONE ALIE CATTURE DI UNO SQUALO 81 ANCO, CARCHARODON CARCHARÍAS (LINNAEUS, 1758), E Di UNO SQUALO MAKO DALLE PINNE CORTE, ISURUS OXYRINCHUS RAFINESQUE, 1809 NELLO STRETTO DI MESS1NA SI NT ESI Viene svolts la revisione crítica di alcuni dati erronei recentemente riportati da Fergusson et al. (2000) in relazio-ne a due catture di squali nelle acque di Ganxirri (Stretto di Messina, Italia) ed ai loro contenuti stomacali. Un esemplare catturato nel 1963, ríportato da Fergusson et a!. (2000) come uno squalo blanco Carcharodon carcharías avente nello stomaco una tartaruga marina Carena caretta, era in realta uno squalo mako dalle pinne corte Isurus oxyrinchus avente nello stomaco una nassa e dei bottoni. L'altro, uno squalo blanco preso nel 1965, aveva nello stomaco resti di tartaruga marina Caretta caretta, e non un pesce luna Mofa mola come erróneamente ríportato da Fergusson et ai. (2000). Parole chíave: Carcharodon carcharías, Isurus oxyrinchus, Caretta caretta, Mola mola, Mare Mediterráneo 11 ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 11 - 2001 1 (23) Antonio O LONA al al.: IN RELATION TO THE CAPTURES OF A CFtFAT WHÍTE SHARK, ... 15-1H INTRODUCTION Fergusson ei ai. (2000) recently presented an analysis of some cases of predation by white sharks, Carcha-rodon carcharias {Linnaeus, 1758)., upon marine turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, including the case reported as the first record of predation (or scavenging) by white shark upon ocean sunfish, Mo fa mola (Linnaeus, 1758).. Since in this work we noticed remarkable inexactness regarding the two captures of sharks in 1963 and 1965 in the Messina Strait, we decided to present herewith the direct report by Nicola Donato, who was the author of both these captures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In relation (o a shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus Rafi-nesque, 1809, caught in June 1963 In Fergusson ef ai. (2000) there is a detailed report of the capture of a shark indicated to be a 350 cm TL white shark, harpooned ca, 3 kin offshore from Ganzirri in june 1963. Fergusson ei ai. (2000) wrote that in its stomach remains of a marine turtle, Caretta caretta (Lin naeus, 1758), were found and they furnished precise details of the damage sustained by the carapace as a consequcnce of the shark's bite. Strangely, Fergusson et a!. (2000} specify several times to have collected this testimony directly from the author of the shark capture, Nicola Donalo (that is also a co author of the present work), as personal communication to Ian K. Fergusson and Mark A. Marks. This statement is not true, and the report about the species of shark and its stomach contents is inexact. It is curious to note that Mojetta et at. (1997) mentioning the same specimen wrote that it had a dolphin in its stomach, indicating a personal communication of Ian K. Fergusson as the source of this data For this reason we decided to expose the true report of this capture. The shark in question was in fact a shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1809, and not a white shark. The specimen was sighted some hundreds of meters offshore from Contrada Principe (Ganzirri), it was approached with a mid-sized boat, and when it was harpooned by Nicola Donato it reacted violently. Once captured, neither a marine turtle as written by Fergusson Carcharocion carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), caught by him near Ganzirri (Sicily, Italy) on March 9"' 1965. (Photo: A. Celona). SI. 1: Nicola Donato med razkazovanjem čeljusti belega morskega volka Carcharocion carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), ujetega 9. marca 1965 v bližini Ganzirrija (Sicilija). (Foto: A. Celona). M ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 11 • 2001 - 1 (23) Antonio CELONA cf ai: IN RELATION TO THE CAPTURES Of A GREAT WHITE SHARK.....B-Í6 dicate the source of the data to be a persona! communication of (Nicola Donato to Ian K. Fergusson and Mark A. Marks; but this is not true, and this second report, too, is incorrect. The truth as far as this capture is concerned is the following. The white shark was first observed pursuing a school of mullets, Mugil sp., only a few meters from the shore, in very shallow waters, where it almost touched the sea-bottom with the ventral surface of its body, while its dorsal part was out of the water. As the shark moved towards offshore waters, it was followed by the boat. It was quickly caught arid Nicola Oonato harpooned it about 40 meters from the coast. The harpoon penetrated through the posterior part of the trunk, at about mid-point between the first dorsal fin and the caudal fin. The shark hauled the boat for about four hours, crossing the Messina Strait three times before dying. In its stomach several parts of marine turtle, Caretta caretta, were found, as well as remains of bony fishes and other unidentified remains. The measurements on this specimen were taken by Prof. Sebastiano Genovese of the University of Messina, who stated the length at 620 cm and the weight of 1200 kg. This weight is also indicated on a plate fixed on the set of jaws preserved in Ganzirri, in the Istituto di Idrobiologia del-I'Universita di Messina (Fig. 1). This capture was reported previously by the following authors: Anonymous (1965), Berdar & Riccobono (1986), Giudici & Fino (1986), Fergusson (1996), Mo-jetta eta!. (1997) and De Maddalena (!999j. Mojetta e>t at. (1997) were the first to report correctly that the stomach of this specimen contained remains of marine turtle, but they wrongly indicated that the capture was made on 1" April. About the size of the shark, Anonymous (1965) report a length of 5 m, a weight of 8 q and a first dorsai fin height of 160 cm, while Berdar & Riccobono (1986) reports a length of 620 cm, a pectoral fin length of 120 cm and a first dorsal fin height of 160 cm; the first dorsai fin height reported by both sources is clearly unacceptable, while the weight of 8 q has to be referred to the gutted and beheaded specimen. On the basis of the two photographic evidences examined by the authors (Fig. 2), the total length of the specimen could be something less than the reported one, apparently around 560 cm, and it seems reasonable to infer that the reported 620 cm length was obtained measuring the shark over the curve of the body instead of in a straight line. This could also explain the relatively low weight. Unfortunately it was not possible to gather more information about the shark in question, since Sebastiano Genovese and Adolfo Berdar are no longer with us. The jaws were examined by the authors and the measurements on the upper and lower anterior teeth were taken following Mollet el a!. (1996) (Tab. 1). Teeth rows are 12-12 above and 12-12 below. Tab. T: Measurements of the upper and lower anterior teeth of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharías (Linnaeus, 1758), caught near Ganzirri on March (f 7 965. Tab. 1: Mere zgornjih in spodnjih sprednjih zob belega morskega volka Carcharodon carcharías (Linnaeus, 1758), ujetega blizu Ganzirrija 9. Marca 1965. first upper anterior tooth enameioid height (UAILO 31 mm First upper anterior tooth enameioid width (UA1EW) 40 mm Second upper anterior tooth enameloid height (UA2E1) 23 mm Second upper anterior toorh enameioid width (UA2EW) 39 mm First, lower anterior tooth enameioid height (LA1E1) 22 mm First lower anterior tooth enameioid width (LAI EW) 26 mm Second tower anterior tooth enameioid height (LA2F1) 33 mm Second lower anterior tooth enameioid width ÍLA2EW) i 30 mm CONCLUSIONS With this work we feel to have definitely clarified the series of mistakes that accompanied the reports of these two captures in the previous literature. Concerning the ocean sunfish, remains of this animal, belonging to small specimen (20-30 kg in weight), have been found on some occasions in the stomachs of blue sharks, Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758), caught in the Messina Strait but, to our knowledge, never in specimens of Carcharodon carchsrias. Fig. 2: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharías (Linnaeus, 1758), caught by Nicola Donato near Ganzirri (Sicily, Italy) on March 9* 1965. (Photo reproduced by kind permission of An tonino Donato). SI. 2: Beli morski volk Carcharodon carcharías (Linnaeus, 1758), ki ga je 9. marca 1965 ujel Nicola Donato v bližini Ganzirrija (Sicilija). (Reprodukcija fotografskega posnetka s prijaznim dovoljenjem Antonina Donata). 13 ANNALES • Ser. hist. nat. • 11 - 2001 1 (23) Anionic)CELONA el at.-IN RELATION TO THE CAPTURES Of A GREAT WHITE SHARK, ... I3-l b ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS following persons: Franco Gazzara, Anfonino Donato, Francesco Riccobono, Marco Zuffa and Gildo Gava-The authors would like to express their thanks to the nelii. V ZVEZI Z UJETJEM BELEGA MORSKEGA VOLKA CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS (LINNAEUS, 1758) iN ATLANTSKEGA MAKA /SURUS OXYRINCHUS RAFINESQUE, 1 809 V MESSINSKEM PRELIVU Antonio CFLONA Aquastudio Research Institute, tT-98121 Messina, Via Tiapani 6 Nicola DONATO Dipartimento di Biologih Animale ed Ecologia Marina, University di Messina, iT-98166 Messina, Via Sperone 31 Alessandro DE MADDALENA Italian Great White Shark Data Bank (Banca Dati ftaliana SquaJo Bianco}, IT-20144 Miiano, Via V. Foppa 25 E-mai I: ademaddaiena ©fiscal i net. it POVZETEK Avtorji pričujočega članka želijo napraviti kritični pregled (napačnih) podatkov v poročilu Fergussona et ai. (2000) v zvezi z ujetjem dveh morskih psov v vodah blizu Ganzirrija (Messinski preliv, Italija) in vsebino njunih želodcev. V letu 1963 ujeti pes, ki naj bi bil po poročanju Fergusona et ai. (2000) beli morski volk Carcharodon carcharias s kareto Caretta caretta v želodcu, je bil v resnici atlantski mako isurus oxyrinchus z majhno vršo in nekaj gumbi v želodcu. Drugi pes - beli morski volk, ujet leta 1965 - je imel v želodcu ostanke karete Caretta caretta, ne pa morskega meseca Mola mola, kot so napačno poročali Fergusson et al. (2000). Ključne besede: Carcharodon carcharias, Isurus oxyrinchus, Caretta caretta> Mola mola, Mediterranean Sea REFERENCES Anonymous (1965): Uno squaJo tigre catturato dni pes-catori nello Stretto. Cazzetta del Sud, 10 Marzo 1965, Messina. Berdar, A. & F. Riccobono (1986): Le meravigiie deiio Stretto di Messina. EDAS, Messina. De Maddalena, A. (1999): Records of the great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea. Miiano, private publication. Fergusson, I. K. (1996): Distribution and autecology of the white shark in the Eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In: Klimley, A. P. & D. G. Ainiey (eds.): Great white sharks. The biology of Carcharodon carcharias. Academic Press, San Diego, 321-345, Fergusson, I. K., L. J. V. Compagno & M. A. Marks (2000): Predation by white sharks Carcharodon carcharias (Chondrichthyes: Lamnidae) upon chelonians, with new records from the Mediterranean Sea and a first record of the ocean sunfish Mota mola (Osteichthyes: Molidae) as stomach contents. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 58. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, 447-453. Gíudtci, A, & F. Fino (1989): Squali de! Mediterráneo Atlantis, Roma. Mojetta, A., T. Storai & M. Zuffa (1997)t Segnalazioni di squalo bianco (Carcharodon carcharías) in acque italiane. Quaderni delia Civica Stazione Idrobioiogica di Milano, 22. Civica Stazione Idrobiologica, Milano, 2338. Mol let, H. F., G. M. Cailliet, A. P. Klimley, D. A. Ebert, A. D. Testi & L. J. V. Compagno (1996): A review of length validation methods and protocols to measure large white sharks. In: Klimley, A. P. & D. G. Ainiey (eds.): Great white sharks. The biology of Carcharodon carcharías. Academic Press, San Diego, 91-108. 14