HOME | DD

Description

    “There is perhaps no link more important in the health of the sea than that magnificent savage that is the shark. Strong in diversity and numbers, he and his kin rule the seas; though by no means the biggest creature or the strongest, it is perhaps the most adaptable and spectacular… the one above all other sea beasts that has influenced man the most.” –Sir Daniel Holmesworth, curator of the Kairegorn Museum of Science and Magic and retired knight.

    There are over 500 species of sharks roaming the seas off Kairegorn’s west coast and in its rivers. Of the many hundreds of shark species in the sea, there are only about 40 are dangerous to man. All sharks of Kairegorn belong to five or six families (it is not known exactly how many, as new species are constantly being discovered) within the class Chondrichthyes; they are the Neoselachia (modern sharks), Hybodontidae, Xenacanthidae, Cladoselachidae, and Stethacanthidae. Their close relatives among the rays and chimaeras, such as the Eugeneodontids also roam these seas, making the cartilaginous fishes of Chondrichthyes among the best known and abundant fish in the known world.
    Of the sharks presented here; the most familiar and strange have been selected, and all are presented to scale with one another where shown. For the largest species, a great white is shown for size comparison with sharks over the 25-foot mark. All sharks are shown at maximum size for appropriate size comparisons.

·      Tiger Shark- The tiger shark (Galeocerdo sp.) is the largest of the requiem sharks native to Kairegorn. The two species of this shark, (G. cuvier and G. contortus) are fearsome hunters that can grow to 25 feet. Of the two, the common tiger shark, (G. cuvier) is the largest, and the more dangerous as it is known to hunt and eat anything from fish and invertebrates to birds, mammals and even, rarely, humans. The long-tooth tiger shark (G. contortus), is different in that it feeds mostly on large fish. The long-tooth tiger shark also looks different; it is paler in color, has fainter stripes and is more often found in open water.

    ·      Thresher Shark- The thresher shark (Alopias sp.) is a shark that feeds on fish. Using its tail to stun fish, it is a powerful hunter that despite growing to a length of 18 feet is harmless to humanoids. Three species dwell in Kairegorn’s waters; the common thresher (A. vulpinus), pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus) and the large-tooth thresher (A. magnodon).

    ·      Sword-nose shark- The sword-nose shark (Carcharhinus nasogladius) is a strange requiem shark that hunts fish with a snout covered in enlarged denticles. Strongly analogous to the swordfish, it is an active hunter that travels in schools over the edges of reefs where the drop-offs begin. It feeds mainly on schooling fish such as sardines, mackerel and small tuna and grows to 18 feet.

    ·      Kairegornan sleeper shark- The Kairegornan sleeper shark (Somniosis kairegornensis) is a huge, sluggish ambush predator that grows upwards of 25 feet, and is at home in both deep and shallow waters. Despite its great size, it is harmless to humanoids and because its flesh is highly toxic, it has no predators.

    ·      Spiny catshark- The spiny catshark (Scyliorhinus ericius) is an 8-foot shark that feeds on small fish, crabs, mollusks and other invertebrates. Its spiny back protects it from all manner of predators, making it virtually inedible to most predators.

    ·      Shear-tooth shark- A hybodont shark, the shear-tooth (Oxynotoides tondendadon) feeds on hard-shelled crabs, mollusks, corals and sponges. Growing to 7 feet, it is primarily nocturnal.

    ·      Oceanic Whitetip shark- The oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) is a shark that is perhaps the most abundant large shark in the sea. At 14-15 feet, it is a powerful and graceful pursuit predator and opportunist. Its vast numbers were not always so great; in the year 1700 A.D.H., it was discovered that the oceanic whitetip had become critically endangered, so much so that it was almost driven to extinction due to overfishing. However, with strict fishing laws demanding the shark’s release should it be hooked by mistake, and a complete ban on fishing for the animal, its numbers gradually rose for the next 300 years until the population had returned to its original numbers. Since then, the fishery for these animals is strictly enforced and the rules regarding quotas followed. Despite its dangerous nature and its occasional man-eating tendencies, the oceanic whitetip is considered to be one of the most beautiful sharks of the Belemnite Sea.

    ·      Giant nurse shark- The giant nurse shark (Nebrius giganteus) is the largest of the nurse sharks, measuring 15 feet in length. A gentle creature, it rests on the bottom by day and hunts fish, crustaceans and mollusks by night. It has become famous for being the only shark that is trainable in sniffing out colonies of communal lobsters for divers to harvest. The shark is rewarded with a portion of the catch in the form of the lobster’s meaty claws.

    ·      Six-spined hornshark- The six-spined hornshark (Heterodontus sextospinus) is the largest of the hornshark family, measuring 8 feet in length. Like all hornsharks, it can rest on the bottom and suck in water through one pair of gills and exhale it out the other four, allowing it to eat and breathe at the same time, allowing it to hunt sea urchins, fish, crabs, shellfish and mollusks. Its extra spines make it unpalatable to predators, but at the price of males having to be careful while biting the fins of females during mating.

    ·      Luminous dogfish- The luminous dogfish (Luxosqualus imperious) is a bioluminescent dogfish that grows to 12 feet long. A deep-water species, it comes to the surface at night and into shallow water to breed during the winter, when the cold upwellings bring added nutrients up from the depths.

Description

    “There is perhaps no link more important in the health of the sea than that magnificent savage that is the shark. Strong in diversity and numbers, he and his kin rule the seas; though by no means the biggest creature or the strongest, it is perhaps the most adaptable and spectacular… the one above all other sea beasts that has influenced man the most.” –Sir Daniel Holmesworth, curator of the Kairegorn Museum of Science and Magic and retired knight.

    There are over 500 species of sharks roaming the seas off Kairegorn’s west coast and in its rivers. Of the many hundreds of shark species in the sea, there are only about 40 are dangerous to man. All sharks of Kairegorn belong to five or six families (it is not known exactly how many, as new species are constantly being discovered) within the class Chondrichthyes; they are the Neoselachia (modern sharks), Hybodontidae, Xenacanthidae, Cladoselachidae, and Stethacanthidae. Their close relatives among the rays and chimaeras, such as the Eugeneodontids also roam these seas, making the cartilaginous fishes of Chondrichthyes among the best known and abundant fish in the known world.
    Of the sharks presented here; the most familiar and strange have been selected, and all are presented to scale with one another where shown. For the largest species, a great white is shown for size comparison with sharks over the 25-foot mark. All sharks are shown at maximum size for appropriate size comparisons.

·      Tiger Shark- The tiger shark (Galeocerdo sp.) is the largest of the requiem sharks native to Kairegorn. The two species of this shark, (G. cuvier and G. contortus) are fearsome hunters that can grow to 25 feet. Of the two, the common tiger shark, (G. cuvier) is the largest, and the more dangerous as it is known to hunt and eat anything from fish and invertebrates to birds, mammals and even, rarely, humans. The long-tooth tiger shark (G. contortus), is different in that it feeds mostly on large fish. The long-tooth tiger shark also looks different; it is paler in color, has fainter stripes and is more often found in open water.

    ·      Thresher Shark- The thresher shark (Alopias sp.) is a shark that feeds on fish. Using its tail to stun fish, it is a powerful hunter that despite growing to a length of 18 feet is harmless to humanoids. Three species dwell in Kairegorn’s waters; the common thresher (A. vulpinus), pelagic thresher (A. pelagicus) and the large-tooth thresher (A. magnodon).

    ·      Sword-nose shark- The sword-nose shark (Carcharhinus nasogladius) is a strange requiem shark that hunts fish with a snout covered in enlarged denticles. Strongly analogous to the swordfish, it is an active hunter that travels in schools over the edges of reefs where the drop-offs begin. It feeds mainly on schooling fish such as sardines, mackerel and small tuna and grows to 18 feet.

    ·      Kairegornan sleeper shark- The Kairegornan sleeper shark (Somniosis kairegornensis) is a huge, sluggish ambush predator that grows upwards of 25 feet, and is at home in both deep and shallow waters. Despite its great size, it is harmless to humanoids and because its flesh is highly toxic, it has no predators.

    ·      Spiny catshark- The spiny catshark (Scyliorhinus ericius) is an 8-foot shark that feeds on small fish, crabs, mollusks and other invertebrates. Its spiny back protects it from all manner of predators, making it virtually inedible to most predators.

    ·      Shear-tooth shark- A hybodont shark, the shear-tooth (Oxynotoides tondendadon) feeds on hard-shelled crabs, mollusks, corals and sponges. Growing to 7 feet, it is primarily nocturnal.

    ·      Oceanic Whitetip shark- The oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) is a shark that is perhaps the most abundant large shark in the sea. At 14-15 feet, it is a powerful and graceful pursuit predator and opportunist. Its vast numbers were not always so great; in the year 1700 A.D.H., it was discovered that the oceanic whitetip had become critically endangered, so much so that it was almost driven to extinction due to overfishing. However, with strict fishing laws demanding the shark’s release should it be hooked by mistake, and a complete ban on fishing for the animal, its numbers gradually rose for the next 300 years until the population had returned to its original numbers. Since then, the fishery for these animals is strictly enforced and the rules regarding quotas followed. Despite its dangerous nature and its occasional man-eating tendencies, the oceanic whitetip is considered to be one of the most beautiful sharks of the Belemnite Sea.

    ·      Giant nurse shark- The giant nurse shark (Nebrius giganteus) is the largest of the nurse sharks, measuring 15 feet in length. A gentle creature, it rests on the bottom by day and hunts fish, crustaceans and mollusks by night. It has become famous for being the only shark that is trainable in sniffing out colonies of communal lobsters for divers to harvest. The shark is rewarded with a portion of the catch in the form of the lobster’s meaty claws.

    ·      Six-spined hornshark- The six-spined hornshark (Heterodontus sextospinus) is the largest of the hornshark family, measuring 8 feet in length. Like all hornsharks, it can rest on the bottom and suck in water through one pair of gills and exhale it out the other four, allowing it to eat and breathe at the same time, allowing it to hunt sea urchins, fish, crabs, shellfish and mollusks. Its extra spines make it unpalatable to predators, but at the price of males having to be careful while biting the fins of females during mating.

    ·      Luminous dogfish- The luminous dogfish (Luxosqualus imperious) is a bioluminescent dogfish that grows to 12 feet long. A deep-water species, it comes to the surface at night and into shallow water to breed during the winter, when the cold upwellings bring added nutrients up from the depths.