Thresher shark

Thresher shark
Shark Shark, 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. (Zo["o]l.) 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}) 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 ({Charcarodon Atwoodi}) is thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of {C. carcharias}. The dusky shark ({Carcharhinus obscurus}), and the smaller blue shark ({C. caudatus}), both common species on the coast of the United States, are of moderate size and not dangerous. They feed on shellfish and bottom fishes. [1913 Webster]

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]

{Baskin 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]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Thresher shark — Taxobox name = Thresher shark fossil range = Fossil range|56|0 Early Eocene to Present [cite journal last = Sepkoski first = Jack authorlink = coauthors = title = A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry) journal =… …   Wikipedia

  • thresher shark — noun large pelagic shark of warm seas with a whiplike tail used to round up small fish on which to feed • Syn: ↑thresher, ↑thrasher, ↑fox shark, ↑Alopius vulpinus • Hypernyms: ↑shark • Member Holonyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • thresher shark — paprastoji jūrų lapė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Alopias vulpinus angl. fox shark; thresher shark; whip tailed shark rus. акула лисица; лисья акула ryšiai: platesnis terminas – rykliai jūrų lapės …   Žuvų pavadinimų žodynas

  • thresher shark — Any of five species (family Alopiidae) of sharks with a long, scythelike tail that may constitute almost half their total length. They are found in tropical and temperate seas worldwide. They eat squid and schooling fishes, attacking after… …   Universalium

  • thresher shark — noun Date: 1888 a large nearly cosmopolitan shark (Alopias vulpinus) that has a greatly elongated curved upper lobe of the tail which is often used to thresh the water to round up the schooling fish on which it feeds see shark illustration …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • thresher shark — noun Any of three species of sharks, in the genus Alopias …   Wiktionary

  • Long-tailed thresher shark — Taxobox name = Long tailed thresher shark status = VU status system = iucn3.1 status ref = cite press release |title=More oceanic sharks added to the IUCN Red List |publisher=IUCN |date=2007 02 22 |url=http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2007/02/2… …   Wikipedia

  • Thresher — may refer to:*Threshing machine (or thresher), a device that first separates the head of a stalk of grain from the straw, and then further separates the kernel from the rest of the head *Thresher shark, a type of shark with a distinctly scythe… …   Wikipedia

  • Shark — Shark, 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shark barrow — Shark Shark, 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.); …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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