from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Shark \Shark\ (sh[aum]rk), n. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps
through OF. fr. carcharus a kind of dogfish, Gr. karchari`as,
so called from its sharp teeth, fr. ka`rcharos having sharp
or jagged teeth; or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf.
{Shark}, v. t. & i.); cf. Corn. scarceas.]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes
of the order {Plagiostomi}, found in all seas.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark,
grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty
feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in
length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are
exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly
belong to the genera {Carcharhinus}, {Carcharodon}, and
related genera. They have several rows of large sharp
teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark
({Carcharodon carcharias} or {Carcharodon Rondeleti})
of tropical seas, and the great blue shark
({Carcharhinus glaucus} syn. {Prionace glauca}) of all
tropical and temperate seas. The former sometimes
becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most voracious
and dangerous species known. The rare man-eating shark
of the United States coast ({Carcharodon Atwoodi}) is
thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of
{Carcharodon carcharias}. The dusky shark
({Carcharhinus obscurus}) is a common species on the
coast of the United States of moderate size and not
dangerous. It feeds on shellfish and bottom fishes.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The original 1913 Webster also mentioned a "smaller
blue shark ({C. caudatus})", but this species could not
be found mentioned on the Web (August 2002). The
following is a list of Atlantic Ocean sharks:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Common and Scientific Names of Atlantic Sharks
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
from "Our Living Oceans 1995" (published by the
National Printing Office):
NMFS. 1999. Our Living Oceans. Report on the status of
U.S. living marine resources, 1999. U.S. Dep. Commer.,
NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-41, on-line version,
http://spo.nwr.noaa.gov/olo99.htm.
(the following list is found at at
http://spo.nwr.noaa.gov/app5.pdf)
(1) Pelagic Sharks
Thresher shark ({Alopias vulpinus})
Bigeye thresher ({Alopias superciliosus})
Oceanic whitetip shark ({Carcharhinus longimanus})
Sevengill shark ({Heptrachias perlo})
Sixgill shark ({Hexanchus griseus})
Bigeye sixgill shark ({Hexanchus vitulus})
Shortfin mako ({Isurus oxyrinchus})
Longfin mako ({Isurus paucus})
Porbeagle ({Lamna nasus})
Blue shark ({Prionace glauca})
(2)Large Coastal Sharks
Sandbar shark ({Carcharhinus plumbeus})
Reef shark ({Carcharhinus perezi})
Blacktip shark ({Carcharhinus limbatus})
Dusky shark ({Carcharhinus obscurus})
Spinner shark ({Carcharhinus brevipinna})
Silky shark ({Carcharhinus falciformis})
Bull shark ({Carcharhinus leucas})
Bignose shark ({Carcharhinus altimus})
Galapagos shark ({Carcharhinus galapagensis})
Night shark ({Carcharhinus signatus})
White shark ({Carcharodon carcharias})
Basking shark ({Cetorhinus maximus})
Tiger shark ({Galeocerdo cuvier})
Nurse shark ({Ginglymostoma cirratum})
Lemon shark ({Negaprion brevirostris})
Ragged-tooth shark ({Odontaspis ferox})
Whale shark ({Rhincodon typus})
Scalloped hammerhead ({Sphyrna lewini})
Great hammerhead ({Sphyrna mokarran})
Smooth hammerhead ({Sphyrna zygaena})
(3) Small Coastal Sharks
Finetooth shark ({Carcharhinus isodon})
Blacknose shark ({Carcharhinus acronotus})
Atlantic sharpnose shark ({Rhizoprionodon erraenovae})
Caribbean sharpnose shark ({Rhizoprionodon porosus})
Bonnethead ({Sphyrna tiburo})
Atlantic angel shark ({Squatina dumeril})
[PJC]
2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark.
[Obs.] --South.
[1913 Webster]
{Basking shark}, {Liver shark}, {Nurse shark}, {Oil shark},
{Sand shark}, {Tiger shark}, etc. See under {Basking},
{Liver}, etc. See also {Dogfish}, {Houndfish},
{Notidanian}, and {Tope}.
{Gray shark}, the sand shark.
{Hammer-headed shark}. See {Hammerhead}.
{Port Jackson shark}. See {Cestraciont}.
{Shark barrow}, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.
{Shark ray}. Same as {Angel fish}
(a), under {Angel}.
{Thrasher shark} or {Thresher shark}, a large, voracious
shark. See {Thrasher}.
{Whale shark}, a huge harmless shark ({Rhinodon typicus}) of
the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length,
but has very small teeth.
[1913 Webster]