Latin Texts & Translations

Belonging to the shell-fish tribe there is the pinna ^[Note] also: it is found ^[Note] in slimy spots, always lying upright, and never

without a companion, which some writers call the pinnotheres, ^[Note] and others, again, pinnophylax, being a small kind of shrimp, or else a parasitical crab. The pinna, ^[Note] which is destitute of sight, opens its shell, and in so doing exposes its body within to the attacks of the small fish, which immediately rush upon it, and finding that they can do so with impunity, become bolder and bolder, till at last they quite fill the shell. The pinnotheres, looking out for the opportunity, gives notice to the pinna at the critical moment by a gentle bite, upon which the other instantly closes its shell, and so kills whatever it has caught there; after which, it divides the spoil with its companion.