Dalatias Research Articles

深海産鮫類肝油の利用に関する研究-IV

The present paper deals with chemical analysis of the liver oil of sharks belonging to Dalatiidae which are “yoroizame”, Dalatias licha, “ondenzame”, Somniosus pacificus and “kaeruzame”, Heteroscymnus longus. Shown in Tables 1, 3 and 5 are date of fishing, fishing area and major morphometric characters of these sharks. In Dalatias used for the study, the weight of the liver averaged about 20% of the body weight, and the oil content of the liver was similar to those of the sharks reported previously1), 2), 3). However, the liver weight and the oil content in the livers of two other species were less than those of Dalatias (Table 2, 4 and 6). The hydrocarbon content in the liver of Dalatias was found the highest of these species and followed by these of Heteroscymnus and Somniosus in this order. The relation of the unsaponifiable matter content and the hydrocarbon content of the liver oil in Dalatias is proportional as in the the case with the sharks studied on the previous occasions. But the hydrocarbon of the liver oil from Heteroscymnus is remarkably lower in amount than the unsaponifiable matter content in the same sample. The case is the same with Somniosus (Fig. 1). The liver oil of Heteroscymnus and Somniosus have a great amount of vitamin A, detail of which will be reported in the near future.