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Bright Orange for the Shroud

MacDonald, John D. | Ballantine, 1965

 

p. 113

“Sharks have no bones. Just gristle. They have rows of hinged teeth that straighten up as they open their mouths. They shed teeth from the front row and other rows move forward. About one third the body weight is liver. The tiny spikes on their hides are tipped with enamel of the same composition as tooth enamel. Their brains are little nubs on the front end of their spinal cords. They have no intelligence anyone has ever been able to test. They are a roving, senseless, prehistoric appetite, as unchanged as the scorpion, cockroach, and other of nature’s improvisations which had good survival value. A wounded shark, being eaten by his comrades will continue to eat anything within reach, even hunks of himself which might happen by.”