Common name of Somniosus pacificus
 
Common name Sleeper shark
Language English
Type Vernacular
Official trade name No
Rank 3 - (Other common name)
Country Canada
Locality British Columbia
Ref. Hart, J.L., 1973
Life stage juveniles and adults
Sex females and males
Core primary lexeme
1st modifier behavior
2nd modifier
Remarks 'Sleeper', i.e., to rest in a state of sleep (p. 1108 in Ref. 11978); 'shark', of obscure origins but appears to have been introduced by members of the Sir John Hawkins' expedition ( a ballad of 1569 recorded 'There is no proper name for [the fish] that I know, but that certain men of Captain Hawkins's doth call it a shark'), ressembles Austrian dialect 'schirk', i.e., sturgeon (p. 471 in Ref. 11979). Also Ref. 10161.
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cfm script by eagbayani, 11.10.04 ,  php script by rolavides, 25/03/08 ,  last modified by sortiz, 06/27/17