Video below.
Tristan da Cunha is made up of a group of volcanic islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the St Helena British Overseas Territory, governed by an appointee from St Helena.
The islands are the most remote inhabited islands in the world, and the population is about 250. The only way to reach the islands is by boat, and it’s a six-day trip from South Africa.
The first local stamps were issued in 1946. They showed penguins, and sold for 4 potatoes. The first official postage stamps were issued in 1952, and were overprinted St. Helena issues.
By 1954 they were issuing their own stamps.
These shark stamps were issued on 8 February 1982, printed using offset lithography, and with a perforation of 13 ½ x 14.
The 5 pence stamp shows a Bluntnose Sixgill Shark, Hexanchus griseus, also called a cow shark. I mentioned this species in the last episode as being featured on a Tanzanian stamp.
They can grow to about 20 feet (6 meters), though are usually about half that size.
Only three closely related species of shark has 6 gill openings, most have 5 gills, and one species has 7 gills. There is a single species of sawshark that also has 6 gills.
These sharks have been found worldwide in tropical and temperate waters, usually near the bottom between about 600 to 3,500 feet (180-1100 m) in depth.
The 14 pence stamp has an image of a Porbeagle Shark, Lamna nasus. This species was introduced in the first video of this series.
The Blue Shark, Prionace glauca, is on the 21 pence stamp. This species is a long-distance migrant, that are found in tropical and temperate oceans around the world.
It’s one of the most elegant sharks, in my view, with a long sleek body, and elongated fins.
They are viviparous, giving birth to live young. The young have a yolk-sac placenta, unlike a mammalian placenta in that it connects to the egg yolk, rather than to the mother. Gestation is between 9 and twelve months. Courtship involves males biting females roughly, and scared individuals are probably female. The females have skin three times as thick as the skin of males, which seems to be an adaptation to courtship.
The Smalleye Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrne tudes, is shown on the 35 pence. This species is only found along the east coast of South America.
These sharks grow to about 4 feet (1.3 m), and have a bright gold color around its head, sides, and fins. Like flamingoes, the sharks get their coloration from the food they eat.
As juveniles they eat primarily shrimp, and as adults prey mostly on sea catfish and their eggs, all of which have yellow pigment, which the shark’s metabolism moves through the body to the skin.
The Smalleye Hammerhead is the most common shark where it lives, but is considered endangered because of overfishing, particularly near Trinidad and along the northern coast of Brazil.
Leave a Reply