270 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore 



The sharks that habitually live near the shore are 

 in the minority. They are of small size, and are 

 usually known locally as "dogfishes." Although feed- 

 ing on what fish they can catch, they are scavengers by 

 nature, taking almost any animal food that comes their 

 way. Some of the larger sharks of the open sea occa- 

 sionally come close to shore, but their stay is only tem- 

 porary as they merely make these visits in their hunt 

 for prey. Many are armed with strong, sharp, cutting 

 teeth with which they can do considerable execution 

 among the porpoises and large fishes that they hunt; 

 others, which are provided with very small teeth, feed 

 only on the smaller fishes, and invertebrates. Nearly 

 all of these oceanic types seem to be viviparous: in 

 other words, the young are born the same as are those 

 of mammals: they are incubated in the body of the 

 mother, not hatched from the extruded egg. 



It is among the sharks that effect the open sea that 

 occurs the common white shark {Carcharias vulgaris)^ 

 the most dreaded monster of the deep. The genus to 

 which it belongs is a large one numerically and in re- 

 spect to the length of some of the species. The indi- 

 viduals are generally recognized by their two large 

 dorsal fins and flattened snout. It is not uncommon for 

 the white shark to attain to a length of twenty-five feet 

 or more. A tough, hard skin covers the body which is 

 grayish brown above and white below. In the warmer 

 seas where it abounds, it quite often follows in the wake 

 of ships attracted by the edible parts of such refuse as 

 may be thrown overboard. Not always does it confine 

 itself strictly to digestible material, however; so vora- 

 cious is it that often it will seize indiscriminately any 



