Elasmobranchii Collection

Fish Gallery, September 1890
The Fish Gallery attractions included a 8.5m (28 ft) long basking shark caught near Shanklin, Isle of Wight, and wood from a whaling ship, the Farquharson, pierced by swordfish lances

Hemiscyllium ocellatum, epaulette shark
Ff. 56. Pencil sketch by Herman Dietrich Sporing made during Captain James Cooks first voyage to explore the southern continent 1768-1771

Blue Spotted Stingray (Dasyatis kuhlii, also known as Kuhls Stingray

Sharks teeth
Tooth of an extinct shark (Carcharodon megalodon) on the right, compared with a tooth from a modern Great White shark, (Carcharodon carcharias) on the left

Squalus maximus, Basking shark taken at Brighton 5 Dec 1812
Watercolour and ink

Tonguestone (sharks tooth) with lateral denticles
Tooth of the extinct shark (Lamna obliqua Agassiz). Specimen orgininating from the London Clay (Eocene), Sheppey, Kent

Scyliorhinus canicula, dogfish
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the scales of a dogfish (x 40)

Pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) swimming in open ocean, Malapascua Island, Philippines, Pacific Ocean

A most stupendous basking shark caught within one league of
Advertising flyer for the public exhibition in London of a basking shark caught in Brighton

Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) feeding on plankton in surface waters close to the island of Coll, Inner Hebrides. Scotland, UK. Atlantic Ocean. June

Salmon shark (Lamna ditropis). Port Fidalgo, Alaska, USA. July

Smalltooth sand tiger shark (Odontaspis ferox), view from below. El Hierro. Canary Islands

Pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) being cleaned by a bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) at Monad Shoal off Malapascua Island, Philippines

Thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) swimming over seabed to be cleaned by cleaner wrasses, Cebu, Malaspascua, Philippines, September

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) breaking surface with mouth open. Guadalupe Island, Mexico

Salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) swimming, Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, Pacific Ocean

Japanese bullhead shark (Heterodontus japonicus) on reef. Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. May

Atlantic sixgill shark (Hexanchus vitulus) swimming with open mouth. Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swimming under the ocean surface in open water, Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swimming close to the surface, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Jaws of Salmon shark (Lamna ditropis), Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. July

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swimming, Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

RF - Male Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swimming beneath the surface, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Sand Tiger Shark (Eugomphodus taurus)
Close-up of Sand Tiger Shark (Eugomphodus taurus). Durban, South Africa. Image digitally altered to remove distracting or to add more interesting background. The main subject has not been altered

RF- Rear view of Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) feeding on plankton, visible as white dots on water surface near island of Coll, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK. June

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) from above. Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico. East Pacific Ocean

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Southern stingray (Hypanus americanus) swimming over sand ripples on sandbar, Stingray City, Grand Cayman. British West Indies

Odontaspis robusta, sand tiger shark teeth
Odontaspis robusta from the Early Eocene rocks of Abbey Wood, Kent. Anterior teeth (tall, slender) and lateral teeth (triangular) are shown

LS Plate 192 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

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Both of these Pantropical spotted dolphins, Stenella attenuata, have wounds on inflicted at night from a cookie cutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis

A look at the front end of a Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), Bequ Lagoon, Viti Levu, Fiji. This species is known for its ability to survive in fresh water where it gives birth to its young; Viti

Grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are a common coastal-pelagic and inshore species found on coral reefs adjacent to drop-offs involving current and the open ocean

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Guadalupe Island or Isla Guadalupe, Pacific Ocean, Mexico, September. Vulnerable species

Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) males beneath the surface. Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico. East Pacific Ocean

Giant Pacific Manta Ray (Manta birostris) portrait with Remora fish (Echeneididae) Roca Partida, Revillagigedos Islands, Mexico. East Pacific Ocean. February

Southern stingray (Hypanus americanus) swimming over ripples on sandbar, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

A school of Southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) on a sand bar, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. British West Indies. Caribbean Sea

Basking shark
Hand-drawn graphite and watercolour wash depicting side view of head of Basking shark transported from Brighton to London. 10th Dec 1812. Date: 1812

Stingray (Dasyatidae)

Fossil sand tiger shark teeth C016 / 5551
Fossil sand tiger shark teeth (Odontaspis robusta). Anterior teeth (tall, slender) and lateral teeth (triangular) are shown. Found in Early Eocene rocks, Abbey Wood, Kent

Carcharodon carcharias, great white shark jaw bones
Specimen of the jaw bones of a great white shark. This species can be found in temperate coastal waters the world over and can grow up to 6m in length

Mobula mobular, devilfish
Ff. 250. Watercolour painting by George Forster made during Captain James Cooks second voyage to explore the southern continent (1772-75)

LS Plate 186 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Aetobatus narinari, spotted eagle ray
LS Plate 190 from the John Reeves Collection. John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Plate 146 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

LS Plate 193 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

LS Plate 179 from the John Reeves Collection

Heterodontus portusjacksoni, Port Jackson shark
Drawing no 44 by George Raper, 1789

Stethacanthus sharks. Artwork of two Stethacanthus sharks swimming. This genus of prehistoric shark existed during the late Devonian and Carboniferous periods (370-345 million years ago)

Sharks eye with a slit pupil, close up

Manta ray (Manta birostris) feeding on plankton in a shallow lagoon. Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives. Indian Ocean

A school of lesser devil rays (Mobula hypostoma) flying through sunbeams as they feed. Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Caribbean Sea

Eye and spiracle detail of a Bluespotted / Ribbontail Stingray (Taeniura lymma) Sipadan Island, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. May

Group of Manta rays (Manta birostris) feeding together on plankton in a shallow lagoon. Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives. Indian Ocean

Embrio squali pristis or The Saw fish
Plate 120 - Naturgeschichte der ausl䮤 ischen Fische : mit sechs und dreissig Ausgemalten kupfern nach originalen (1785-95) by Marcus Elieser Bloch

Eye of Ray (Batoidea) with light-blocking eyelid, close up

Underside of a Ray, close up

Electric ray brain, illustration C018 / 0913
Electric ray brain, illustration. Electric rays are able to produce an electric discharge, to stun prey or for defence, from two electric organs situated either side of their heads

Basking shark, 19th century artwork C016 / 6210
Basking shark (Squalus maximus). Artwork of a basking shark that beached at Brighton, UK on the 5th Dec 1812. the shark was transported to London and exhibited there. It measured 9.5 metres in length

Basking shark, 19th century artwork C016 / 6211
Basking shark (Squalus maximus). Artwork of a basking shark that beached at Brighton, UK on the 5th Dec 1812 being transported on a horse-drawn carrige

Basking shark, 19th century artwork C016 / 6213
Basking shark (Squalus maximus). Artwork of the head of a basking shark that beached at Brighton, UK on the 5th Dec 1812. The shark was transported to London and exhibited there

Horses being used to transport a Basking shark from Brighton
Hand-drawn graphite and watercolour wash depicting the horses used to transport a Basking shark from North Audley Street, Brighton to London on a carriage pulled by 12 horses. 10th Dec 1812

Common blue shark illustration
One of 67 original water colour drawings of Mammals, Reptiles and Fish found at King Georges Sound, Western Australia, and in its neighbourhood; accompanied by manuscript notes by Neill, Robert

Bulldog shark illustration
One of 67 original water colour drawings of Mammals, Reptiles and Fish found at King Georges Sound, Western Australia, and in its neighbourhood; accompanied by manuscript notes by Neill, Robert

Carcharodon carcharias, great white shark
Specimen of the jaw bones of a great white shark. This species can be found in temperate coastal waters the world over and can grow up to 6m in length

Green skate illustration
One of 67 original water colour drawings of Mammals, Reptiles and Fish found at King Georges Sound, Western Australia, and in its neighbourhood; accompanied by manuscript notes by Neill, Robert

Stingray illustration
One of 67 original water colour drawings of Mammals, Reptiles and Fish found at King Georges Sound, Western Australia, and in its neighbourhood; accompanied by manuscript notes by Neill, Robert

Foraminifera models
One drawer containing some of d Orbigny models and slides previously displayed alongside the models in the galleries

Mustelus canis, smooth dogfish
A baby smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis). These small members of the shark familly can be found in the western Atlantic from Massachusetts to northern Argentina and in the Gulf of Mexico

Scyliorhinus stellaris, huss, Squalus acanthias, spiny dogfi
Plate 35 by William MacGillivray from his Watercolour drawings of British Animals, 1831-1841

LS Plate 177 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Carcharhinus sp
Ff. 51. Watercolour painting by Sydney Parkinson made during Captain James Cooks first voyage to explore the southern continent 1768-1771

Dasyatis pastinaca, common stingray
Ff. 46. Pencil sketch by Herman Dietrich Sporing made during Captain James Cooks first voyage to explore the southern continent 1768-1771

LS Plate 187 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

LS Plate 189 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

LS Plate 191 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

LS Plate 8 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Sharks head and teeth
Page 333 from Metallotheca by Michele Mercati (1717). Sixteenth century drawing

LS Plate 185 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Poroderma africanum
Ff. 249. Pencil sketch by George Forster made during Captain James Cooks second voyage to explore the southern continent (1772-75)

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Elasmobranchii, also known as sharks and rays, have fascinated scientists and nature enthusiasts for centuries. This Fish Gallery from September 1890 showcases the incredible diversity of these ancient creatures. In the vast Pacific Ocean near Malapascua Island in the Philippines, a Pelagic thresher shark gracefully cuts through the open water. Its long tail acts as a weapon to stun its prey, making it an apex predator of its domain. The Blue Spotted Stingray, also known as Kuhls Stingray, displays its mesmerizing pattern while gliding effortlessly through the ocean depths. Its elegant movements are a testament to nature's artistry. A historic moment captured on December 5th, 1812 at Brighton reveals a massive Basking shark (Squalus maximus). This gentle giant is renowned for filter-feeding on plankton and small fish by opening its colossal mouth wide. The Hemiscyllium ocellatum or epaulette shark exhibits unique adaptations with elongated fins that allow it to "walk" along shallow coral reefs. Its striking appearance makes it stand out among other species. Tonguestone or shark's tooth fossils provide evidence of their existence since prehistoric times. These teeth bear lateral denticles that aided them in catching elusive prey throughout their evolutionary journey. The Scyliorhinus canicula or dogfish represents one of many smaller species within this diverse group. Their nocturnal habits and sharp senses make them efficient hunters even in dimly lit waters. Divers brave enough to encounter Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off Guadalupe Island in Mexico witness true awe-inspiring moments. These majestic predators command respect with their sheer power and presence underwater. An extraordinary account tells of a most stupendous basking shark caught within one league of unknown origins—a testament to both human curiosity and elasmobranchii's ability to surprise us.