Page 3 - Carcharodon2001

ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 11 · 2001 · 2 (25)

Alessandro DE MADDALENA et al.: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCES OF THE LARGEST GREAT WHITE SHARKS, ..., 193-206

Tab. 1: Most interesting cases of white sharks reaching or exceeding 6 metres in length reported in previous litera-
ture
Tab. 1:Najzanimive#i podatki o belih morskih volkovih, za katere so v literaturi navedli, da so meri/i 6 ali vec
metrov.

DATE LOCATION SEX REPORTED SOURCE NOTES

LENGTH

(cm)

February 1839 Civitanova, ltaly - ca. 600 Bonaparte (1839), Metaxà Estimated to be 602 cm TL on
(1839), Vinciguerra (1885- the basis of the largest vertebra

1892), De Maddalena (De Maddalena, 1998).

(2000b) .

1886 Piombino, ltaly - 800-1000 Biagi (1995)
1945 Cojimar, Cuba
F 640.8 Bigelow & Schroeder Length contested by Randall

(1948), Guitar-Manday & (1987).

Milera (1974)

16 March 1954 Camogli, ltaly F 700 Tortonese (1965) Length contested by Fergusson

(1996) .

19 june 1961 Ganzirri, Sicily, F > 600 Celona (2001) Estimated to be ca. 640 cm long
9 March 1965 ltaly
Ganzirri, Sicily, (Celona, 2001 ).
ltaly
- 620 Berdar & Riccobono Hypothesised to be measured

(1986), Celona et al. (2001) over the curve of the body; esti-

mated about 560 cm TOT from

photograph (Celona et al., 2001 ).

18 September Gallipoli, ltaly M 620 Piccinno & Piccinno (1979)
1979
1982 Dakar, Senegal > 800 TL Barrull & Mate (2001) Not accurately measured .
4 August 1983 Alberton, Prinèe Never measured (EIIis &
Edward lsland, F 609.6 Mollet et al. (1996) McCosker, 1991).
17 january Canada
1987 Gansbaai, South F 567-600 Gottfried et al. (1996), Never measured (De Maddalena
1 Aprii 1987 Africa cmTOT Mollet et al. (1996) et al. , 2002).
Kangaroo lsland, jury (1987), Cappo (1998), Never measured.
17 Aprii 1987 Australia F > 690 Mollet et al. (1996)
Filfla, Malta Abela (1989) Reported length doubtful (Mollet
F 714 cm et al.', 1996). Estimated to be 520-
16 Jufy 1996 Malindi, Kenya TOT Cliff et al. (2000) 550 cm (Fergusson, 1998).
Estimated 570 cm Tln from verte-
F ca. 640 bral size (Ciiff et al. , 2000).

MATERIALS AND METHODS cussion section instead of in the Materia! and Methods
section.
We examined the photographic evidences of the
largest specimens collected in the ltalian Great White The lengths of the specimens investigated were not
Shark Data Bank (Banca Dati Italiana Squalo Bianco), a clearly reported as measured accurately and following
precise standards, such as those indicated in scientific
program of data collection on the presence of c. car- literature (see Compagno, 1984 and Mollet et al., 1996),
and as in some cases the size reported are merely de-
charias in the Mediterraneari Sea instigated in 1996. Far clared estimates, we believed it necessary to revise the
reported data. In almost ali cases even weights were re-
every case examined, we searched for ali available in-
formation, looking for ali related bibliographical ported in the sources, but it is never clearly spe~ ified
sources, trying to contact eyewitnesses and ali other
persons that were able to furnish us with new and un- whether the specimen was really weighed or merely es-
published details or unknown photographs of the timated (as it is often likely) and in which condition
specimens we are dealing with in our study. We consid- (whole, gutted, beheaded or other). Moreover, it should
ered it more useful and clear to include the so recon- be taken into consideration that it is not suitable to esti-
structed reports of the captures in the Results and Dis- mate the total length from the weight without consider-

195