144 BLUE SHARK. Class IV. 



TION. 



Descrip- Jt « rows to the length of six or seven feet. 

 The color of the head, back, and sides is a rich 

 deep blue; the belly white; the nose sharp, 

 yet rounded at the end ; the teeth which are 

 sharp, broad, and serrated, are often found fossil, 

 and in that state are called, GlossopetrcE. It 

 wants the orifices behind the eyes usual to the 

 genus. The pectoral and first dorsal fins are 

 large and sharply pointed on their lower part; 

 between the second dorsal fin and the tail is 

 a triangular dent. The tail is bifid, the upper 

 part very long, and a little incur vated. The skin 

 is much smoother than that of other sharks. 



Rondeletius says, that he was an eye-wit- 

 ness to its fondness for human flesh, and that he 

 saw a boy, who was walking in the sea close to 

 the shore, attacked and nearly caught by this 

 ravenous fish. 



This species is found in the South Seas, and 

 in the West Indies. 



The public is indebted to Doctor Watson 

 junior, for enabling me to give a better account 

 of this fish than I was capable of doing in my 

 former edition.* 



* The Second Edition. Ed. 



