previous next

CHAP. 40. (24.)—VARIOUS KINDS OF FLAT FISH.

There is another kind of flat fish, which, instead of bones, has cartilage, such, for instance, as the raia,1 the pastinaca,2 the squatina,3 the torpedo,4 and those which, under their respective Greek names, are known as the ox,5 the lamia,6 the eagle,7 and the frog.8 In this number, also, the squali9 ought to be included, although they are not flat fish. Aristotle was the first to call these fish by the one generic name of σελάχη,10 which he has given them: we, however, have no mode of distinguishing them, unless, indeed, we choose to call them the "cartilaginous" fishes. All these fish are carnivorous,11 and feed lying on their backs, just as dolphins do, as already12 noticed; while the other fishes,13 too, are oviparous, this one kind, with the exception of that known as the sea-frog, is viviparous, like the cetacea.14

1 The ray.

2 The sting-ray; the Raia pastinaca of Linnæus.

3 The angel-fish; the Squalus squatina of Linnæus.

4 The Raia torpedo of Linnæus.

5 Galen, in his explanation of words used by Hippocrates, speaks of the, βοῦς θαλάσσιος, which is also described by Oppian, Halieut. B. ii. 1. 141, et seq. He speaks of it as growing to the length of eleven or twelve cubits, and having small, weak teeth, which are not easily seen, and compares it in appearance to the roof of a house. Cuvier thinks, that although its horns are not mentioned, a species of large horned ray is alluded to, which is known by the modern naturalists by the name of Cephalopterus, and he thinks it very likely these horns may have given it its Greek appellation. Indeed Pliny himself, in another place, B. xxxii. c. 53, speaks of it under the name of "cornuta," the "horned-fish."

6 A species of ray, most probably.

7 Cuvier suggests that this was the mylobates, the Raia aquila of Lin- næus, which probably obtained this name on account of the width of the pectoral fins, and its peculiar shape.

8 βάτραχος ἁλιεὺς, the sea-frog, the Lophius piscatorius of Linnæus, and the baudroie of the French. Cuvier remarks, that though there is little solidity or firmness in the bones of this animal, it is not properly a cartilaginous fish.

9 This is borrowed from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v., who, however, says, καὶ πάντα τὰ γαλεώδη; from which Massarius, Turnebus, and Hippolytus Salvianus are inclined to read "galei," instead of "squali." Both terms, however, Hardouin says, are used to denote the genus which the French call "chiens de mer," "dog-fish."

10 It is curious that Aristotle, though he was the inventor of this name, has nowhere stated in what it originated. Galen, De Alim. Fac. B. iii. c. 36, says that it is ἀπο τοῦ σέλας ἔχειον, from the fact of their shining at night.

11 Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 5, and De Part. Anim. B. iv. c. 13.

12 In c. 7 of the present Book.

13 Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 8.

14 Cuvier says that it is true that the sea-frog is oviparous; but it is far from being the case that all the cartilaginous fishes but it are viviparous. The rays, for instance, produce large eggs of a square shape, and enveloped with a very hard horny shell. Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 5, and B. ii. c. 16, makes the same exception as to the sea-frog or frog-fish.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

load focus Latin (Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, 1906)
hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

hide References (2 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (2):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: