the varieties of fish which we shall now mention are those which have no blood: they are of three kinds—first, those which are known as “soft;” next, those which have thin crusts; and, lastly, those which are enclosed in hard shells.[139] the soft fish are the loligo, the s?pia, the polypus, and others of a similar nature. the last have the head between the feet and the belly, and all of them have eight feet: in the s?pia and the loligo two of these feet are very long and rough, and by means of these they lift the food to their mouths, and attach themselves to places in the sea, as though with an anchor; the others act as so many arms, by means of which they seize their prey.
the loligo is also able to dart above the surface of the water, and the scallop does the same, like an arrow as it were. in the s?pia, the male is parti-colored, blacker than the female, and more courageous. if the female is struck with a fish-spear, the male comes to her aid; but the female, the instant the male is struck, takes to flight. both of them, as soon as they find themselves in danger of being caught, discharge 145 a kind of ink, and thus darkening the water, take to flight.
there are numerous kinds of polypi. the land polypus is larger than that of the sea; they all of them use their arms as feet and hands. the polypus has a sort of passage in the back, by which it lets in and discharges the water, and which it shifts from side to side, sometimes carrying it on the right, and sometimes on the left. it swims obliquely, with the head on one side, which is of surprising hardness while the animal is alive, being puffed out with air. in addition to this, they have cavities dispersed throughout the claws, by means of which, through suction, they can adhere to objects, with the head upwards, so tightly, that they cannot be torn away. they cannot attach themselves, however, to the bottom of the sea, and their retentive powers are weaker in the larger ones. these are the only soft fish that come on dry land, and then only where the surface is rugged: a smooth surface they will not come near. they feed upon the flesh of shellfish, the shells of which they can easily break in the embrace of their arms: their retreat may be easily detected by the pieces of shell which lie before it. although, in other respects, this is looked upon as a remarkably stupid kind of animal, so much so, that it will swim towards the hand of a man, in its own domestic matters it manifests considerable intelligence. it carries its prey to its home, and after eating all the flesh, throws out the debris, and then pursues such small fish as may chance to swim towards them. it also changes its color, according to the aspect of the place where it is, and more especially when it is alarmed. the notion is entirely unfounded that it gnaws its own arms; this mischance befalls it from the congers; but it is perfectly true that its arms shoot forth again, like the tail in the colotus and the lizard.
among the most remarkable curiosities among all the inhabitants of the sea is the animal which has the name of 146 nautilus, or, as some people call it, the pompilos. lying with the head upwards, it rises to the surface of the water, raising itself little by little, while, by means of a certain conduit in its body, it discharges all the water, and this being got rid of like so much bilge-water as it were, it finds no difficulty in sailing along the surface. then, extending backwards its two front arms, it stretches out between them a membrane of marvellous thinness, which acts as a sail spread out to the wind, while with the rest of its arms it paddles along below, steering itself with its tail in the middle, which acts as a rudder. thus does it make its way along the deep, mimicking the appearance of a light liburnian bark; while, if anything chances to cause it alarm, in an instant it draws in the water, and sinks out of sight.
belonging to the genus of polypi is the animal known as the oz?na, being so called from the peculiarly strong smell exhaled by the head; in consequence of which, the mur?n? pursue it with the greatest eagerness. the polypi keep themselves concealed for two months in the year; they do not live beyond two years, and always die of consumption. i must not omit here the observations which lucullus, the proconsul of b?tica, made with reference to the polypus, and which trebius niger, one of his suite, has published. he says that it is remarkably fond of shell-fish, and that these, the moment that they feel themselves touched by it, close their valves, and cut off the feelers of the polypus, thus making a meal at the expense of the plunderer. shell-fish are destitute of sight, as well as of all other sensations but those which warn them of hunger and the approach of danger. hence the polypus lies in ambush till the fish opens its shell, immediately upon which, it places within it a small pebble, taking care, at the same time, to keep it from touching the body of the animal, lest, by making some movement, it should chance to eject it. having made itself thus secure, it attacks its prey, and draws out the flesh, while the other tries to contract 147 itself, but all in vain, in consequence of the separation of the shell, thus effected by the insertion of the wedge. so great is the instinctive shrewdness in animals that are otherwise quite remarkable for their lumpish stupidity.
in addition to the above, the same author states, that no animal in existence is more dangerous for its powers of destroying a human being when in the water. embracing his body, it counteracts his struggles, and draws him under with its feelers and its numerous suckers, when, as often is the case, it happens to make an attack upon a shipwrecked mariner or a child. if, however, the animal is turned over, it loses all its power; for when it is thrown upon the back, the arms open of themselves.
the other particulars, which the same author has given, appear still more closely to border upon the marvellous. at carteia, in the preserves there, a polypus was in the habit of coming from the sea to the pickling-tubs that were left open, and devouring the fish laid in the salt—for it is quite astonishing how eagerly all sea-animals follow the smell of salted condiments, so that for this reason the fishermen take care to rub the inside of the wicker fish-kipes with them.—at last, by its repeated thefts and immoderate depredations, it drew down upon itself the wrath of the keepers of the works. palisades were placed before them, but these the polypus managed to get over by the aid of a tree, and it was only caught at last by calling in the assistance of trained dogs, which surrounded it at night, as it was returning to its prey; upon which, the keepers, awakened by the noise, were struck with alarm at the novelty of the sight presented. first of all, the size of the polypus was enormous beyond all conception; then it was covered all over with dried brine, and exhaled a most dreadful stench. who could have expected to find a polypus there, or could have recognized it as such under these circumstances? they really thought that they were joining battle with some monster, for at one instant, it would drive off the 148 dogs by its horrible fumes, and lash at them with the extremities of its feelers; while at another, it would strike them with its stronger arms, giving blows with so many clubs, as it were; and it was only with the greatest difficulty that it could be despatched with the aid of a considerable number of three-pronged fish-spears. the head of this animal was shown to lucullus; it was in size as large as a cask of fifteen amphor?, and had a beard, to use the expressions of trebius himself, which could hardly be encircled with both arms, full of knots, like those upon a club, and thirty feet in length; the suckers or calicules, as large as an urn, resembled a basin in shape, while the teeth again were of a corresponding largeness: its remains, which were carefully preserved as a curiosity, weighed seven hundred pounds. the same author also informs us, that specimens of the s?pia and the loligo have been thrown up on the same shores of a size fully as large: in our own seas the loligo is sometimes found five cubits in length, and the s?pia, two. these animals do not live beyond two years.
mucianus relates that he has seen, in the propontis, another curious resemblance to a ship in full sail. there is a shell-fish, he says, with a keel, just like that of the vessel which we know by the name of acatium, with the stern curving inwards, and a prow with the beak attached. in this shell-fish there lies concealed also an animal known as the nauplius, which bears a strong resemblance to the s?pia, and only adopts the shell-fish as the companion of its pastimes. there are two modes, he says, which it adopts in sailing; when the sea is calm, the voyager hangs down its arms, and strikes the water as with a pair of oars; but if the wind invites, it extends them, employing them by way of a helm, and turning the mouth of the shell to the wind. the pleasure experienced by the shell-fish is that of carrying the other, while the amusement of the nauplius consists in steering; and thus, at the same moment, is an instinctive joy felt by 149 these two creatures, devoid as they are of all sense, unless, a natural antipathy to man—for it is a well-known fact, that to see them thus sailing along, is a bad omen, and that it is portentous of misfortune to those who witness it.[140]
the cray-fish, which belongs to the class of bloodless animals, is protected by a brittle crust. this creature, like the crab, keeps itself concealed for five months. but at the beginning of spring both of them, after the manner of snakes, throw off old age, and renew their coverings. while other animals swim on the water, cray-fish float with a kind of action like creeping. they move onwards, if there were nothing to alarm them, in a straight line, extending on each side their horns, which are rounded at the point by a ball peculiar to them; but when alarmed, they straighten these horns, and proceed with a sidelong motion. they use these horns when fighting with each other. the cray-fish is the only animal that has the flesh in a pulpy state, and not firm and solid, unless it is cooked alive in boiling water.
the cray-fish frequents rocky places, the crab spots which present a soft surface. in winter they both choose such parts of the shore as are exposed to the heat of the sun, in summer they withdraw to the shady recesses of deep inlets of the sea. all fish of this kind suffer from the cold of winter, but become fat during autumn and spring, particularly during the full moon; for the warmth of that luminary, as it shines in the night, renders the temperature of the weather more moderate.
there are various kinds of crabs, known as carabi, lobsters, mai?, paguri, heracleotici, lions, and others of less note. the carabus differs from other crabs, in having a tail; in ph?nicia they are called hippoi, or horses, being of such extraordinary swiftness, that it is impossible to overtake them. crabs are long-lived, and have eight feet, all of which are 150 bent obliquely; besides which, the animal has two claws with indented pincers. the upper part only of these forefeet is movable: the right claw is the largest in them all. sometimes they assemble together in large bodies; but as they are unable to cross the mouth of the black sea, they turn back again and go round by land, and the road by which they travel is to be seen all beaten down with their foot-marks.
the smallest crab known is the pinnotheres. it is peculiarly exposed to danger, but its shrewdness is evinced by its concealing itself in the shell of the oyster, removing as it grows larger, to those of a larger size.
crabs, when alarmed, go backwards as swiftly as when moving forwards. they fight like rams, butting at each other with their horns. they have a mode of curing themselves of the bites of serpents. it is said, that while the sun is passing through the sign of cancer, the dead bodies of the crabs, which are lying thrown up on the shore, are transformed into serpents.
to the same class also belongs the sea-urchin, which has spines in place of feet; its mode of moving along is to roll like a ball, hence it is that these animals are often found with their prickles rubbed off. those among them which have the longest spines of all, are known by the name of echinometr?, while at the same time their body is the very smallest. they are not all of them of the same glassy color; in the vicinity of torone they are white, with very short spines. the eggs of all of them are bitter, and are five in number; the mouth is situate in the middle of the body, and faces the earth. it is said that these creatures foreknow the approach of a storm at sea, and that they take up little stones with which they cover themselves, and so provide a sort of ballast against their volubility, for they are very unwilling by rolling along to wear away their prickles. as soon as seafaring persons 151 observe this, they at once moor their ship with several anchors.
to the same genus also belong both land and water snails, which thrust the body forth from their abode, and extend or contract two horns. they are without eyes,[141] and have, therefore, to feel their way, by means of these horns.
to the same class belong the sea-scallops, which also conceal themselves during severe frosts and great heats; as well as the onyches, which shine in the dark like fire, and in the mouth even while being eaten.
