Coastal Waters
The county's coastal waters are home to large populations of seals. Porpoises, whales and sharks are not uncommonly seen. St Ives recently made newspaper headlines after a reported sighting of a Great White Shark.
Porbeagles inhabit the coastal waters but the etymology of the word is obscure. A common suggestion is that it combines "porpoise" and "beagle", referencing this shark's shape and tenacious hunting habits. Another is that it is derived from the Cornish porth, meaning "harbour", and bugel, meaning "shepherd". The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word was either borrowed from Cornish or formed from a Cornish first element with the English "beagle"; however, none of the proposed Cornish root words are fully satisfactory. Squalus cornubicus (Gmelin, 1789); Squalus cornubiensis (Pennant, 1812) and Lamna cornubica are other Latin names for the Porbeagle.
Swanpool is the only location in the British Isles in which the bryozoan Victorella pavida is found.
Read more about this topic: Flora And Fauna Of Cornwall
Famous quotes containing the word waters:
“Where the Moosatockmaguntic
Pours its waters in the Skuntic,
Met, along the forest side
Hiram Hover, Huldah Hyde.
She, a maiden fair and dapper,
He, a red-haired, stalwart trapper,
Hunting beaver, mink, and skunk
In the woodlands of Squeedunk.”
—Bayard Taylor (1825–1878)