162 



WHITE SHARK. 



the deatTi of a friend. The teeth in the various 

 forms of this family are all most formidable weapons, 

 remarkably sharp, hard and cutting ; and in some 

 of the larger species, of such size as entirely to 

 preclude the possibility of escape with life, to any 

 creature which is so unlucky as to come within 

 their grasp. 



IMany other fishes possess a very powerful fonna- 

 tion of long and sharp teeth, as in the accompanying 

 cut of the head of Lonchurus ancylodon^ Schn. In 



none are the teeth comparatively more formidable 

 than in the common pike, the shark of the British 

 waters ; in specimens of this fish, of from twenty to 

 thirty pounds weight, they are as large as those of 

 a cat, and the whole of the roof of the mouth, 

 the tongue, and arches of the gills are so thickly 

 set, that, when every circumstance is considered, 

 this provision is more ample than in any other 

 fish. Many of the spari have very strong and 

 shai-p teeth ; in some other forms, again, the teeth 



