The Sea Dragon
Of the Ray tribe of fishes, the Sea Dragon is the most
frightful-looking, but we know next to nothing about it. Pliny only
cursorily mentions it thus:--"The Sea Dragon again, if caught, and
thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with its muzzle, with
the most wonderful celerity." Olaus Magnus simply copies Pliny almost
word for word. Gesner, from whom I have taken this illustration, merely
classes it among the Rays, and gives no further information about it;
neither does Aldrovandus, from whom I have taken another picture.
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The Lion
Of the great Cat, the Lion, the ancients give many wonderful stories, some of them not altogether redounding to his character for bravery:--"A serpent, or snake doth easily kill a lion, where of Ambrosius writeth very elegantly. Eximia leonis pulc... The Manticora
Of curious animals, other than Apes, depicted as having some approach to the human countenance, perhaps the most curious is the Manticora. It is not a parvenu; it is of ancient date, for Aristotle mentions it. Speaking of the dentition of animals,... The Martlet And Footless Birds
Of the Martin, or, as in Heraldry it is written, Martlet, Guillim thus writes:--"The Martlet, or Martinet, saith Bekenhawh, hath Legs so exceeding short, that they can by no means go: (walk) And thereupon, it seemeth, the Grecians do call them Apo... The Mimick Dog
"The Mimicke or Getulian Dogge," is, I take it, meant for a poodle. It was "apt to imitate al things it seeth, for which cause some have thought that it was conceived by an Ape, for in wit and disposition it resembleth an Ape, but in face, shar... The Narwhal
generally called the Monoceros or Sea Unicorn, is thus shown in one place, by Gesner; and, rough though it is, it is far more like the Narwhal's horn than is the other, also, in his work, of a Sea Rhinoceros or Narwhal engaged in combat with an ou... The Orca
is probably the Thresher whale. Pliny thus describes it:--"The Balaena (whale of some sort) penetrates to our seas even. It is said that they are not to be seen in the ocean of Gades (Bay of Cadiz) before the winter solstice, and that at periodica... The Ostrich
Modern observation, and especially Ostrich farming, has thoroughly exploded the old errors respecting this bird. We believe in its powers of swallowing anything not too large, but not in its digesting everything, and certainly not, as Muenster ... The Ouran Outan
Transition from hirsute humanity to the apes, is easy, and natural--and we need only deal with the Simiinae, which includes the Orang, the Chimpanzee, and the Gorilla. These are the largest apes, and nearest approach to man--but, although they may... The Pelican
The fable of the Pelican "in her piety, vulning herself," as it is heraldically described--is so well known, as hardly to be worth mentioning, even to contradict it. In the first place, the heraldic bird is as unlike the real one, as it is poss... The Phoenix
Pliny says of the Phoenix:--"AEthiopia and India, more especially produce birds of diversified plumage, and such as quite surpass all description. In the front rank of these is the Phoenix, that famous bird of Arabia; though I am not sure that its... The Remora
Of this fish Pliny writes:--"There is a very small fish that is in the habit of living among the rocks, and is known as the Echeneis, [Greek: Apo tou echein neas]. (From holding back ships.) It is believed that when this has attached itself to the... The Rhinoceros
The true Unicorn is, of course, the Rhinoceros, and this picture of it is as early an one as I can find, being taken from Aldrovandus de Quad, A.D. 1521. Gesner and Topsell both reproduce it, at later dates, but reversed. The latter says that Gesn... The Sahab
"There is also another Sea-Monster, called Sahab, which hath small feet in respect of its great body, but he hath one long one, which he useth in place of a hand to defend all his parts; and with that he puts meat into his mouth, and digs up grass... The Salamander
Many writers have essayed this fabled creature, but almost all have approached the subject with diffidence, as if not quite sure of the absolute entity of the animal. Thus, Aristotle does not speak of it authoritatively:--"And the Salamander shews... The Saw Fish
"The Saw fish is also a beast of the Sea; the body is huge great, the head hath a crest, and is hard and dented like to a Saw. It will swim under ships and cut them, that the Water may come in, and he may feed on the men when the ship is drowned."... The Scorpion
Of the Scorpion, Pliny says:--"This animal is a dangerous scourge, and has a venom like that of the serpent; with the exception that its effects are far more painful, as the person who is stung will linger for three days before death ensues. The s... The Sea Dragon
Of the Ray tribe of fishes, the Sea Dragon is the most frightful-looking, but we know next to nothing about it. Pliny only cursorily mentions it thus:--"The Sea Dragon again, if caught, and thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with i... The Sea-hare
"The Sea-Hare is found to be of divers kinds in the Ocean, but so soon as he is caught, onely because he is suspected to be Venemous, how like so ever he is to a Hare, he is let loose again. He hath four Fins behind his Head, two whose motion is a... The Sea-mouse
"The Sea-Mouse makes a hole in the Earth, and lays her Eggs there, and then covers them with Earth: on the 30th day she digs it open again, and brings her young to the Sea, first blind, and, afterwards, he comes to see. ... The Sea-pig
Again we are indebted to Gesner for the drawing of this Sea Monster. Olaus Magnus, speaking of "The Monstrous Hog of the German Ocean," says:--"I spake before of a Monstrous Fish found on the Shores of England, with a clear description of his... The Sea-serpent
Of the antiquity of the belief in the Sea-Serpent there can be no doubt, for it is represented on the walls of the Assyrian palace at Khorsabad, more than once, in the sculpture representing the voyage of Sargon to Cyprus, thus giving it an authen... The Sphynx
"The SPHYNGA or Sphinx, is of the kind of Apes, but his breast up to his necke, pilde and smooth without hayre: the face is very round, yet sharp and piked, having the breasts of women, and their favor, or visage, much like them: In that part of t... The Sting Ray
Pliny mentions the Sting Ray, and ascribes to it marvellous powers, which it does not possess:--"There is nothing more to be dreaded than the sting which protrudes from the tail of the Trygon, by our people known as the Pastinaca, a weapon five in... The Su
Topsell mentions a fearful beast called the Su. "There is a region in the new-found world, called Gigantes, and the inhabitants thereof, are called Patagones; now, because their country is cold, being far in the South, they cloath themselves with ... The Swallow
"And is the swallow gone? Who beheld it? Which way sailed it? Farewell bade it none?" (W. Smith, Country book.) Olaus Magnus answered this question, according to his lights, and when, discoursing on the Migration ... The Swamfisck
The accompanying illustration, though heading the chapter in Olaus Magnus regarding the Swamfisck and other fish, does not at all seem to elucidate the text:--"The Variety of these Fish, or rather Monsters, is here set down, because of their ad... The Swan
The ancient fable so dear, even to modern poets, that Swans sing before they die--was not altogether believed even in classical times, as saith Pliny:--"It is stated that at the moment of the swan's death, it gives utterance to a mournful song; bu... The Toad
Toads were always considered venomous and spiteful, and they had but one redeeming quality, which seems to be lost to its modern descendants:-- "Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a p... The Trochilus
This bird, as described by Aristotle, and others, is of a peculiar turn of mind:--"When the Crocodile gapes, the trochilus flies into its mouth to cleanse its teeth; in this process the trochilus procures food, and the other perceives it, and does... The Unicorn
What a curious belief was that of the Unicorn! Yet what mythical animal is more familiar to Englishmen? In its present form it was not known to the ancients, not even to Pliny, whose idea of the Monoceros or Unicorn is peculiar. He describes this ... The Walrus
Of the Walrus, Rosmarus, or Morse, Gesner draws, and Olaus Magnus writes, thus:--"The Norway Coast, toward the more Northern parts, hath a great Fish, as big as Elephants, which are called Morsi, or Rosmari, may be they are (called) so from the... The Wolf
The Wolf, as a beast of prey, is invested with a terror peculiarly its own; when solitary, it is not much dreaded by, and generally shrinks from, man, but, united by hunger into packs, they are truly to be dreaded, for they spare not man nor beast...