Sharks of Polynesia

Les Éditions du Pacifique [Published 1984]. Soft cover, 170 pp. Text in English. Full color photos and illustrations throughout. Includes index and literature cited. [From foreword] This book is both a general review and field guide to the identification of species. It is designed to be of value to anyone having an interest in sharks, be it casual or scientific. Part I deals with sharks in general, primarily as they relate to man. In this regard, although Polynesia receives particular emphasis, sharks are discussed on a global basis with pertinent references to species occurring in various parts of the world. Included in this section is the best advice which can be given to date to those who find themselves in confrontation with sharks. Part II is devoted to systematics or the identification of species. This section has a key to the families of sharks, including the species known or thought to occur in Polynesia, here considered to approximate the triangle formed by the Cook, French Polynesian, and Hawaiian Islands. This key, which includes many species widely distributed in other tropical and temperate seas of the world, is followed by a detailed discussion of sharks occurring in the region of French Polynesia proper. This latter section, with few exceptions, includes only those species which have been actually caught and positively identified. Although the text of this book is intended to be self- explanatory, clarification of some additional points of format will aid the reader. Rather than burden the text with citations, small "exponent-like" numbers are used to identify source and reference material listed under Literature Cited. Both general writings and specific papers are included to provide the interested reader greater diversity…