Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/856

 830 SHARK SHARP The nurse or sleeper shark (S. brevipinna, De Kay ; somniosus, Lesueur) attains a length of 8 ft. ; the color is leaden gray, darkest on the back, with a black lateral line ; the fins are so small that it must be rather slow in its move- ments, and it is generally regarded as a ground shark ; the skin is rough and prickly ; a few specimens have been caught on the coast of Massachusetts. In the family squatinida, the only genus, squatina, has been treated under the title ANGEL FISH. In the family zygcenidce there is a nictitating membrane, no spiracles, and two spineless dorsals ; the head is flat, with the orbits extended laterally in a most extraordinary manner, flexible and doubled on themselves in the foetus, but standing out at right angles and to a greater distance as age advances ; on the end of these lateral processes are the large eyes. This strange form of head is found in no other vertebrate, and only in some dipterous insects (diopiis, &c.), and in many decapod crustaceans whose eyes are at the end of long pedicels. The snout is trun- cated, so that the head resembles a double hammer ; the nostrils are on the front border, and have a small nasal flap ; the teeth are alike above and below, compressed pyramids, some- times with a serrated external basal ridge, and a mesial tooth in both jaws ; tail pits distinct, and oviduct villous. Such are the characters of the only genus, zygcena (Guv.) or sphyra (Van der Hoeven), of which the best known species is the hammer-headed shark ('/.. [&] malleus, Guv.) ; it attains a length of 12 ft. or more, and is grayish above with head nearly black, and whitish below ; the iris is yellow ; Hammer-beaded Shark (Zygtena malleus). the first dorsal is high, triangular, falcate, and toward the upper part of the back, the second smaller and near the tail. It is found in the Mediterranean and in the warm seas of most parts of the globe, especially of the East Indies, and generally in deep water. It is so ferocious as to attack persons bathing, and is very vora- cious, feeding chiefly on rays and flat fishes ; great numbers of them are sometimes seen to- gether ; the flesh is leathery and unfit to eat, but the liver yields considerable oil ; a fe- male opened at Penang was found to contain over 35 living young. The common species of America, between Massachusetts and Brazil, once considered the Z. malleus, has been de- ' scribed by Dr. Storer ("Proceedings of the I Boston Society of Natural History," vol. iii., ! 1848) as the Z. arcuata; it attains a length of 11 or 12 ft., and is much dreaded by fisher- men. Large sharks abounded in former geo- logical epochs, especially during the secondary and primary periods. In some of the tertiary formations, as at Malta, teeth of sharks have been found 7 in. long and 4^ in. wide at the base. The principal shark fisheries are on the N. and N. W. coasts of Iceland, in Norway, and on the arctic shores of Russia W. of the White sea, where they are pursued chiefly for the oil, and on the W. coast of Hindostan in the vicinity of Bombay, where they are pur- sued chiefly for the fins. These are sent to China, the annual exports from Bombay amounting to 15,000 or 20,000. The fins are also collected in the Indian archipelago. SHARON, a borough of Mercer co., Penn- sylvania, on the Shenango river, here spanned by two iron bridges, and on the Erie and Pitts- burgh railroad, 60 m. N. N. W. of the latter and 64 m. S. S. W. of the former city ; pop. in 1870, 4,221. The Mahoning division of the Atlantic and Great Western railroad affords a direct route to Cleveland and the west. There are large coal fields in the vicinity. Iron manufacturing is the chief business, the bor- ough containing two large rolling mills with nail factories of more than 40 machines each, two extensive fonnderies and machine shops, and about half a dozen blast furnaces. There are two large planing mills, several smaller manufactories, two national banks, a savings bank, and a private bank, four hotels, three large brick school houses, a masonic hall, three weekly newspapers, and nine churches. SHARON SPRINGS, a village of Schoharie co., New York, on a branch of the Albany and Sus- quehanna railroad, 45 m. W. by N. of Albany ; pop. in 1870, 520. It is in a narrow valley surrounded by high hills, and is a favorite sum- mer resort. It is chiefly noted for its mineral springs, of which there are four, chalybeate, magnesia, white sulphur, and blue sulphur. These, together with a spring of pure water, are near each other and near the base of a wooded bluff W. of the village, and flow into a small stream below. The village contains several hotels, and is visited by more than 10,000 persons annually. SHARP, GranvUte, an English philanthropist, born in Durham in 1734, died in London, July 6, 1813. He was the son of Dr. Thomas Sharp, archdeacon of Northumberland, author of sev- eral philological, antiquarian, and religious