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DE MADDALENA A., O. GLAIZOT, G. OLIVER
bono, 1986) but Celona et al. (2001) hypothesised
that it was measured aver the curve of the body. A
specimen caught off Isola la Formica, ltaly, in May
1974 was reported to measure approximately 6.2-
6.4 m (and later estimated to be 5.94 m TOT), but it
is not known whether the length was measured as
TOT or as Tln (De Maddalena et al., 2001 ). A male
caught off Gallipoli, ltaly, on September 18'h 1979
was reported to measure 6.20 m in length (Piccinno,
Piccinno, 1979) but it is not known whether the leng-
th was measured in a straight line or aver the curve
of the body. A specimen caught off Dakar, Senegal,
in 1982, was estimated to be longer than 8 m, but
was never accurately measured (Barrull, Mate, 2001;
De Maddalena et al., 2001 ). A female White Shark
caught on August 4'h 1983 off Alberton, Prince
Edward lsland, Canada, reported to measure 6.096 m
in Mollet et al. (1996) was, according to Ellis,
McCosker (1991) never measured. A female caught
in Gaansbai, South Africa, on january 17'h 1987,
reportedly 5.67-6.00 m TOT (Gottfried et al., 1996;
Mollet et al., 1996), was likewise never measured
accurately (Ciiff, Ferreira, Mollet, personal communi-
cation). A female specimen caught on Aprii 1" 1987
near Kangaroo lsland, Australia, was estimated to be
longer than 6.9 m, but was never measured (Cappa,
1988; Mollet et al., 1996). Another female White
Shark captured in Filfla, Malta, on Aprii 17'h 1987,
previously claimed to be accurately measured and
reportedly 7.14 m in length (Abela, 1989), has since
fallen under serious doubt (Mollet et al., 1996; Fer-
gusson, 1998); later it was estimated to be 6.68-6.81
m TOT, but it remains not clear if it was ever accu-
rately measured (De Maddalena et al., 2001 ). A
female caught off Malindi, Kenya, on 16'h july 1996,
reportedly about 6.4 m in length and estimated 5.7 m
Tln from vertebra! size, was never measured (Ciiff et
al., 2000). Far a 5.80 m female caught in Favignana,
ltaly, on Aprii 24'h 1980 (De Maddalena, 2002; Catal-
do, personal communication), it is not known whe-
ther the length was measured as TOT or as Tln. On
the basis of photographic evidence, the authors deem
that the measurement was TOT.
In conclusion, it seems that only two White
Sharks that were accurately measured exceed the
length of the specimen that is described in this study.
These are the following: a 5.944 m female captured
off Ledge Point, Australia on March 22"d 1984 (Ran-
dall, 1987; Mollet et al., 1996), and a female caught
in Bunbury, Australia, on july 2"d 1991, that measu-
red 5.74 m Tln (Mollet et al., 1996) and 5.29 fork
length (FOR) (Hubbell, personal communication);
the 5.54 m Tln reported far this specimen by Hub-
bell (1996) is very probably erroneous.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Very special thanks to Rick Martin, who very
kindly edited the English text of this work, and to
-58-
Manuel Fischer for the help in taking the measurements
on the shark. Thanks also to Henry Mollet, Jeff Seigel,
Gioacchino Cataldo, Sarah Fowler, Henri Cappetta,
Gordon Hubbell, Geremy Cliff, Craig Ferreira, Louis
Euzet, Serge Licciardi, Claude Azais and Francis Calvie-
ra far the information furnished on large White Shark
specimens. Particular thanks are due from Alessandro
De Maddalena to Alessandra Baldi.
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