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The former colony of Tanganyika, in east Africa, gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. In 1964 it joined with Zanzibar to form the current country of Tanzania. The new country’s first stamps were issued in 1964.
Tanzania discovered the philatelic stamp market in the late 1980s, issuing over 100 stamps each year featuring all sorts of topical collecting subjects. It is a client of the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation, a private company that issues stamps and fulfills some postal services for around 70 countries.
Starting in 1957 with Guiana as their first client, the IGPC has been pouring pop subjects, animals, and Disney stamps onto the market solely for the collecting market. Though they also produce definitive stamps for use, most of their thematic issues are difficult to find postally used. There is much criticism of the company because the New York based company apparently aims its images at a largely American audience, and the images only rarely have anything to do with the purported issuing country.
Some collectors avoid these stamps unless postally used as little better than stickers, however, the designs are usually very eye-catching and many topical collectors do collect them.
These 1993 lithographed stamps from Tanzania are among IGPCs output. They have an issue date of 27 July 1993, though they were not available for sale until July of 1994. They are perforated 12 ½ x 12.
The 20-shilling stamp features the Shortfin Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, which grows to about 13 feet (4 m). It is distributed around the world in tropical and subtropical seas.
It is pelagic, living in the open ocean and can be found down to 490 feet (150 m) deep. They have the strongest bite of any shark measured, with about 3000 pounds of force.
Between the 16th and 21st centuries, there have only been 9 recorded attacks by mako on humans, and only one of those was fatal.
This shark is currently listed as Endangered around the world.
The Caribbean Lanternshark, Etmopterus hillianus, is shown on the 30-shilling stamp. This shark is a very small shark, growing only to about 20 inches (50 cm). They are found only on the outer coastal shelf in the Caribbean, and Atlantic coast, from around Virginia south to Venezuela. They have also been found in the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama to Louisiana.
They are bottom dwelling, but little seems to be known about their biology.
The 50-shilling stamp features a much more well-known fish, but it is labelled incorrectly. The fish pictured seems to be a Leopard Shark, though it is given the scientific name, Galeocerdo cuvier, which is the Tiger Shark.
The Leopard Shark, Triakis semifasciata, is found along the western coast of North America. They are active predators, common in bays and kelp beds.
Their patters of dark and light gray partial stripes doesn’t much look like a leopard, but they do resemble colorless tigers. This may have caused confusion with the illustrators, who were not very careful with their identification.
The 70-shilling stamp is supposed to show the African Angelshark, Squatina africana. Again, the identification is incorrect. The fish shown is a Zebra Shark. I’m going to put off describing it for another video, because I have a whole set of stamps depicting just this animal.
The 100-shilling stamp is another case of mistaken identity. The scientific name given is that of the Longnose Sawshark, Pristiophorus cirratus. But there is no way that is a sawshark in the image. This time, the shark does appear to be the Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo cuvier. It is one of the larger sharks, growing over 16 feet (5 m).
These sharks are found around the world in tropical waters, usually near the coast.
Tiger sharks are the second-most common shark found to attack humans, but there are only around 150 shark attacks around the world each year, about half of them provoked by the human. It may seem like a large number, but considering the millions and millions of humans entering the ocean each year, the chance of any person being attacked is very, very low.
The Whitetip Reef Shark, Triaenodon obesus, shown on the 150-shilling stamp is primarily nocturnal. They hunt at night in group, following prey fishes into holes in the reef. During the day, they sleep in caves, one of the few shark species that do not sleep while swimming.
They’re a small shark, growing to around 5 feet (1.6 m). They are curious about divers, and may come very close to them. They only very rarely bite unprovoked, but they will potentially fight a spearfisher for fish on the line.
The Scalloped Hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, of the 200-shilling stamp is found along coasts in the tropics and subtropics, except along the western coasts of the Americas. It is the most common species of hammerhead shark.
They have large brains, and are intelligent sharks, showing complex social behaviors, navigating in their preferred waters, and in migration.
There is also a 350-shilling stamp that pictures a Bluntnose Sixgill Shark. I don’t own this stamp, but I’ll say more about the Sixgill Shark in the next shark week episode.
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