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THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



These tendrils, when the egg is laid, coil tightly around sea- 

 weeds at the bottom of the water, and prevent the egg from being 

 thrown up upon the shore, until the little shark is hatched out. 



A great contrast in size to the little dog-fish is the formidable 

 White Shark, one of the fiercest fishes that roam the ocean. This 

 shark is said sometimes to attain a length of thirty-five feet, or 

 even more; while its jaws are so powerful, and its teeth so sharp, 

 that it has been known to sever a human body at a single bite. 



Hammer-headed Shark 



The white shark is very common in the Pacific Ocean, and the 

 islanders capture it in a simple but curious way. All that they do 

 is to tie a rope round a big log, so that it may hang down in the 

 water, with a noose at the lower end. 



A shark is almost sure to come and examine the log, and, 

 somehow or other, it nearly always manages to put its head 

 through the noose. As soon as the natives see, by the movements 

 of the log, that the shark is caught, they put off in boats, and, 

 having caught it, batter its head with clubs until it is dead. 



The strangest of all these great fish is the Hammer-headed 

 Shark. The head of this shark is shaped like a hammer, and pro- 

 jects to some distance from either side of the neck. At the ends of 

 these extremities the eyes are placed. This shark is sometimes 

 found in the British seas, and is from eight to twelve feet long. 



