Dear Editor:
Belief is the suppression of facts which conflict with what one wishes to be true, and the invention of ones that corroborate it. This axiom is well shown by the rash of speculation and sheer fantasy surrounding the recent discovery of a Basking Shark carcass at Parker's Cove.
Anyone with a knowledge of biology at, say, first year college level would have observed: (a) the creature had a totally cartilagenous skeleton, i.e. no bone, and (b) it had a large triangular dorsal fin. Therefore it was a shark, the only question being what species. Admittedly there were some confusing features, for example there appeared to be fur on the animal. A closer examination of the small areas of intact skin however showed the "fur" was under the skin. In fact the hairy material was collagen fibres, all that remained of the connective tissue fascia that are a prominent feature of shark integument. Since the discovery, specialists in marine biology from DFO and Acadia University have confirmed what this generalist had concluded from a first-hand examination: it was a Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus).
This specimen was extensively decomposed, and except for the dorsal and pectoral fins, all the skin, muscle, soft tissues, most of the tail, and all of the head including the gills, jaws and eyes, were absent. What people took to be the skull was indeed the brain case, and what were probably (but mistakenly) identified as eye sockets, in fact were pits that once held olfactory organs, the most important sensory apparatus in sharks. In the living animal the eyes are small and widely separated. The massive body once held intestines and a huge liver, not lungs. Sharks are gill breathers, and unlike bony fish, have no swim bladder. This particular species is a plankton feeder, and does not have a biting mouth or rows of teeth, but it does have tooth-like structures on the integument like all sharks.
Decomposed Basking Shark carcasses, with their apparently horse-like head on a long neck, were the origin of mediaeval tales of sea monsters. One would have thought that such ignorant speculation had been laid to rest by three hundred years of careful biological research, but evidently not so. It is natural to be surprised at discovery of an animal one has not known about, but stupid to believe no one else has seen one either. In fact, Basking Sharks are common, though not abundant, in the Bay of Fundy, and since this discovery I have had several people tell me about sightings of live animals, including my son who saw one from the Digby ferry, as did many other ferry passengers that day. They are a spectacular and fascinating animal. It is strange that people would find the wonderful diversity of real life forms less fascinating than wild speculation and fables about prehistoric sea monsters.
I am not a marine biologist, but do have an education in Biological Science. All of the facts I have related are readily available in text books and on the Internet. To those who would like to continue the sea monster theme, I would recommend this maxim: Engage Brain Before Putting Mouth In Gear.
David Tinker,
Granville Beach.