noun
ferocious shark; man-eating shark
Colloquial term for a large, aggressive shark, often imagined as a man-eater. Not a scientific name.
あの海には鰐鮫が出るらしい。
They say ferocious sharks appear in that sea.
映画に出てくるような鰐鮫に襲われるなんて考えただけで怖い。
Just thinking about being attacked by a man-eating shark like in the movies is terrifying.
Compound of 鰐 (わに, 'alligator/crocodile') and 鮫 (さめ, 'shark'), likening a ferocious shark to a crocodile. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely arose from the image of a large, dangerous aquatic predator.