Influence of the shell correction damping with increasing of excitation energy on the fission fragment angular anisotropies are considered. Experimental data on the fission fragment angular anisotropies for the compound nucleus produced in the4He +238U reactions is analyzed in the framework of the model of the transitional state in the saddle point and the statistical theory of nuclear reactions. Information about the energy dependence of the shell corrections is obtained from this analysis. © 2004 American Institute of Physics