Taxonomy
The etymology of the word "porbeagle" 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 "harbor", 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. The Dictionary also notes that there is no evidence for a connection to the French porc, meaning "swine", or to porpoise, as has been proposed. Other common names for the porbeagle include Atlantic mackerel shark, Beaumaris shark, bottle-nosed shark, and blue dog.
The first scientific description of the porbeagle was authored by French naturalist Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in the 1788 Tableau encyclopédique et methodique des trois règnes de la nature, and based on an earlier 1769 account by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Bonnaterre named the shark Squalus nasus, the specific epithet nasus being Latin for "nose". In 1816, French naturalist Georges Cuvier placed the porbeagle into its own subgenus, Lamna, which later authors elevated to the rank of full genus.
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