93 THE SHARK. 



The leading characteristic that distinguishes this kind of fishes, 

 is their having gristles instead of bones ; and from their pliancy, 

 they seem to have no bounds set to their dimensions, but are 

 supposed to increase in size as long as they live. 



Cartilaginous fishes seem to constitute the connecting link be- 

 tween the cetaceous and the spinous kinds, and to unite some 

 of the principal properties of both in their conformation. Like 

 the former, they have organs of hearing, and lungs ; and like 

 the latter, they have gills, and a heart without a partition. Th?s 

 double capacity of breathing is one of the most remarkable fea- 

 tures in the history of animated nature. From the structure of 

 their gills, they are able to live longer out of the water than any 

 other kind of fishes. The shark will live some hours after it is 

 taken : but the herring or the mackarel expire in a few minutes 

 after they are drawn out of their natural element. 



Of cartilaginous fishes there are so many kinds, that to give a 

 description of each would extend our work beyond its proposed 

 limits. We shall therefore only mention those striking features, 

 by which they are distinguished, and afterwards give a descrip- 

 tion of a few of the most remarkable species. 



They may be in general divided into fiV: classes : the first 

 comprehends those of the shark kind, with a body growing less 

 towards the tail, a rough skin, the mouth placed far beneath 

 the end of the nose, and five apertures on the side of the neck 

 for breathing ; the next division is that of the flat-fish, which may 

 by its form be easily distinguished ; the third division is the slen- 

 der snake-shaped kind ; the fourth, that of the sturgeon ; and in 

 the fifth may be comprised the sun-fish, the sea-snail, the fishing- 

 frog, and a number of other varieties, each of which has some- 

 thing peculiar in its form that distinguishes it from the rest. The 

 devouring fish, of which we are now going to describe the ter- 

 rific appearance and rapacious habits, is too dreadfully remark- 

 able to- fail of attracting attention. 



THE SHARK 



Is. of all the inhabitants of the deep, the fiercest, the most for- 

 midable, and the most voracious. It comprises several varieties ; 

 and the smallest of the kind are formidable to fishes very far su- 

 perior in size. The white shark may sometimes almost rank 

 among the smaller whales, in respect of magnitude ; it is often 

 seen from twenty to thirty feet in length. Some assert that this 

 lish has been found to weigh not less than four thousand pounds; 

 and we are told of one in particular, that had a whole human 

 corpse in his belly. The head of the shark is large and some- 

 w.'nt flatted, the snout long, and the eyes fierce, large, and fiery. 

 The mouth and throat are enormously capacious, so that it is 



