Latin Texts & Translations

Hence it is that there is a difference, ^[Note] also, in the fins of fish, which have been given them to serve in place of feet, none having more than four, ^[Note] some two ^[Note] only, and others none. ^[Note] It is in Lake Fucinus ^[Note] only that there is a fish found that has eight fins ^[Note] for swimming. Those fishes which are long and slimy, have only two at most, such, for instance, as eels and congers: others, again, have none, such as the muræna, which is also without gills. ^[Note] All these fish ^[Note] make their way in the sea by an undulatory motion of the body, just as serpents do on land; on dry land, also, they are able to crawl along, and hence those of this nature are more long-lived than the others. Some of the flat-fish, also, have no fins, the pastinacæ, ^[Note] for instance—for these swim broad-wise—those, also, which are known as the "soft" fish, such as the polypi, for their feet ^[Note] serve them in stead of fins.