Great White Sharks in United States Museums

This complete guide to great white shark specimens preserved in the museums and aquariums of the United States catalogs 160 items in 26 institutions. The preserved material includes whole specimens as well as parts (jaws, teeth, vertebrae, etc.). Each entry details the methods of preserving or preparing the specimen and of creating a model of the shark cast from a mold of the original specimen. The work also includes a general introduction describing the biology, ethology and ecology of the great white shark and more detailed accounts of the various preservation methods.

Alessandro De Maddalena is a researcher, writer, scientific illustrator and wildlife photographer. He is the curator of the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank and a founding member of the Mediterranean Shark Research Group. He is the author of 19 books on sharks and hosts expeditions with courses in shark biology in South Africa, Australia and Mexico.
Walter Heim, a mechanical engineer, started photographing sharks in 2001 and with his daughter Jessica has developed techniques to photograph mako and blue sharks at close range. His pictures have appeared in many books and wildlife magazines. He is the author of four books on sharks.

Alessandro De Maddalena and Walter Heim
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 223
Bibliographic Info: 107 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4183-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Foreword by Sean R. Van Sommeran      1

Preface      3

1. Biology, Ethology and Ecology of the Great White Shark      7

2. Preserving and Reconstructing Great White Sharks      85

3. Great White Shark Materials in Museums      113

Alaska      113

California      114

Connecticut      139

Florida      141

Illinois      146

Massachusetts      148

New York      154

North Carolina      156

Pennsylvania      159

South Carolina      161

Texas      162

Virginia      162

Washington (State)      164

Washington, D.C.      165

4. Great White Sharks in Aquariums (A Chronological Report)      168

Appendix I—Institutions Contacted      187

Appendix II—Reporting Specimens of Great White Sharks      195

Bibliography      199

Index      207

“recommended for museum scientists and others with a direct interest in shark collections”—ARBA.