CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. 
509 
The back and sides of the Shark, Carcharius vulgaris (Fig. 351 ), 
are of an ashy brown ; beneath it is faded white. The bead is fiat, 
and terminates in a muzzle slightly rounded. Its terrible mouth is in 
the form of a semicircle, and of enormous size ; the contour of the 
upper jaw of a shark of ten yards length being about two yards wide, and 
its throat being of a proportionate diameter to this monstrous opening. 
When the throat of the animal is open we see beyond the lips, which 
are straight and of the consistence of leather, certain plates of teeth, 
which are triangular, dentate, aud white as ivory. If the shark is an 
adult it lias in the upper as in the lower jaw six rows of these 
murderous aims, an arsenal ready to tear and rend its victim. These 
teeth take different motions according to the will of the animal ; and 
obedient to the muscles round their base, by means of which it can 
erect or retract its various rows of teeth, it can even erect a portion 
of any row, while the others remain at rest in their bed. Thus this 
far-seeing tyrant of the ocean knows how to measure the number and 
power of the aims necessary to destroy its prey : for the destruction of 
the weak and defenceless one row of teeth suffices ; for the more 
formidable adversary it has a whole arsenal at command. 
The eyes of the shark are small, and nearly round ; the iris of a 
deep green, the eyeball, shaped in a transversal slit, is bluish ; its 
scent is very subtle ; its fins are strong and rough. 
The pectoral fins are triangular, and much larger than the others, 
extending on each side, and giving powerful aid in swimming. The 
caudal fin is divided into two very unequal lobes, the upper extending 
in a sloping direction to twice the length of the other. This tail is 
possessed of immense power, and is capable of breaking the limb of a 
robust man by a single stroke. 
During the hot season the male and female seek each other ; they 
approach the coast roving in company, forgetting their ferocity for the 
time. The eggs are hatched at several periods in the ovary, from 
which the little ones issue two or three at a time. 
The shark, when scarcely born, becomes the scourge of the sea. He 
seizes all that come near him. He eats the cuttle-fish, molluscs, and 
fishes ; among others flounders and cod-fish. But the prey which has 
the greatest charm for him is man ; the shark loves him dearly, but 
it is w r ith the affection of the gourmand. It even manifests, according 
to some authors, a preference for certain races. If we may believe 
