42 Greek Biology 



into the same class. Thus he invents a category Carcharodonta 

 for animals with sharp interlocking teeth and includes in it 

 carnivors, reptiles, and fish ; again, the horse kind must be 

 included both among his Anepallacta or animals having flat 

 crowned teeth as well as among the Amphodonta or animals 

 with front teeth in both jaws. Such words as these are really 

 terms of description, not of classification in the modern biological 

 sense of that word. 



There are, however, scattered through the biological works, 

 certain terms which are applied to animal groups and organs and 

 are defined in such a way as to suggest that they might ulti- 

 mately have been developed for classificatory purposes. Thus 

 his lowest group is the species. ' The individuals comprised 

 within a single species (etSos) . . . are the real existences ; 

 but inasmuch as these individuals possess one common specific 

 form, it will suffice to state the universal attributes of the 

 species, that is, the attributes common to all its individuals, 

 once and for all.' * This is surely not very far removed from 

 the modern biological conception of a species. 



' But as regards the larger groups such as birds which 

 comprehend many species, there may be a question. For on 

 the one hand it may be urged that as the ultimate species 

 represent the real existences, it will be well, if practicable, to 

 examine these ultimate species separately, just as we examine 

 the species Man separately ; to examine, that is, not the 

 whole class Birds collectively, but the Ostrich, the Crane, 

 and the other indivisible groups or species belonging to the 

 class. 



6 On the other hand, this course would involve repeated 

 mention of the same attibute, as the same attibute is common 

 to many species, and so far would be somewhat irrational 

 and tedious. Perhaps, then, it will be best to treat generically 

 the universal attributes of the groups that have a common 

 1 De partibus animalium^ i. 4 ; 644* 22. 



