The shark most closely resembles a tiger shark, a species found in Havana Harbor. It is unlikely that Copley ever saw a live shark, or even a dead specimen, but he may have had access to a set of shark jaws for a model. Copley's shark has two kinds of teeth and imaginary lips, quite unlike actual shark anatomy.

photo of sand
tiger shark by George Grall. © National Aquarium, Baltimore

Left: John Singleton Copley. Watson and the Shark (detail), 1778. National Gallery of Art, Ferdinand Lammot Belin Fund 1963.6.1.  Right, photograph of sand tiger shark by George Grall. © National Aquarium, Baltimore  

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