of the Cetacea is more fully treated of. Wc subjoin the following: „The Dolphin, the Phalæna (Physeter?) and other Whales 

 which have no gills, but a spouting-tube, give birth' to living young ones, as do also the sawfish and the ,,bus" (le bæuf 

 marin); for in none of these animals are eggs found, but from the first, germs (embryos) whence the young emerge by 

 (levelopenient, as is the case witii man and the viviparous (juadrupcds. The Dolphin generally gives birth to 1 young one, 

 sometimes 2 ; the ^^'halebone ^^'llalc to at most 2, which is most freijuently the case, seldom 1 ; as with the Dolphin, so is 

 it with the Porpoise (Phocæna) uliicli lias the a])pearance of a small dol})hin and lives in Pontus, but is distinguishable from 

 tlie Dolphin by its smaller size and greater breadth of back: its colour is daik lilue. Many consider the Phocæna to l)e a 

 species of Dolphin. [All animals that have a sj)outing-tube, breathe and draw in air, for they have lungs. The Dolphin has 

 also been observed when asleep to hold its snout above water, and to snore in its sleep.] The Dolphin and the Phocæna 

 have milk and give suck to their young; they als> take tiieir young into themselves as long as they are small. Young 

 Dolphins grow i|uickly. for they attain to their full size in Kt years: they are pregnant for 10 months. The Dolphin does 

 not bear at any other season than the summer. At the period oi the dog-star, it hides itself for about 30 days. It 

 accompanies its young for a long time and takes great care of them. It lives for a long time, and it is certain that many 

 attain to the age of 2.5 and even 30 years ; for fishermen have cut the tails off certain Dolphins, and let them go again, so 

 tliat their age could be ascertained." 



Other ancient authors, who mention the Cetacea, have not been able to add anything of lasting value about these 

 animals which was not known from Aristotle. 



Galen (Kuhn's edition, Leipz. 1821) states that Whales, Seals and Dolphins breathe air (III, p. 444) and that 

 Whales. .... have their eyes ,,on their long neck" (ibid. p. 681). He further states that the flesh is hard and unpleasant 

 to eat, but may be eaten, if necessity requires, salted and spiced (YI, p. 728 and 737); also that eating whale's flesh 

 occasions "sanguis melancliolichus" (YlII, p. 13).') Pliny, Oppian, Paulus Ægineta and Yarro include the Cetacea in 

 their description of other large marine animals, such as the Tunny, the Shark and others. Pliny has made himself 

 conspicuous by the fables with which he has adorned the natural history of the Whale. Ælianus and Plutarch also 

 describe certain features of its natural history. 



There are certain Arabian writers in the middle ages who are of interest to the history of cetology, as they 

 mention some of the whale species among other wonders of the ocean. 



In Abbé Renaudot's translation in 1718, of an old Arabian work: "Anciennes Relations des Indes et de la 

 Chine de deu.x Yoyageurs Mahometans qui y allerent dans le IX e. Sifecle de notre Ere," revised and criticised by M. 

 Ren aud, a large fish is stated to be found in the Indian Ocean, of which the size and width of the jaws is described as 

 enormous. Ships dread this fish greatly, and bells are rung to frighten it away. Much is said, too, about ambergris, which 

 is cast u\) by the sea on to the coasts, also that it grows from the bottom of the sea like a plant. The word al-oual occurs 

 as the name of a large fish. According to Renaud's critical remarks, the large fish in ijuestion must be a Cachelot (Physeter 

 macrocephalus, L.). 



In Edrisi's Geogrniihy from the year 1154 (translated from Arabic to French, by P. Amédée .laubert, Paris 

 1834i it is stated that in the Gulf of Oman, in Indian Herkend, there is a kind of fish that is about i^OO feet long. ''It is 

 called el-waly; it is white." The translator interprets this as ''la baleine" (in which case it is Eubalæna australis) and 

 thinks that the words 'whale' and 'Wal' have come from the Arabic. In Dimicluiui's Cosmography (from the latter half 

 of the 13th century) ambergris is stated to occur in the Indian Ocean, and fables are related about its origin and eft'ect; 

 the stranding is also recorded of a large fish — probably a cachelot — on which 300 people lived for a W'hole month. A 

 fuller description of certain whale species is found in El-Kazwini's Cosmography. A "well-known genus of fish," lOO feet 

 in length is here mentioned, which, by the aid of harpoons, is drawn to land and cut in pieces with axes, while from '"the 

 brain, a (puintity of oil" is extracted. The Dolphin receives high praise as a 'blessed animal" that helps those who are 

 in danger of drowning. Two other kinds are also described, called "Ketos" and ''Kata", i. e. Whales, of which the first 

 destroys ships, and the second is so large that bridges may be built of its ribs. „If leprosy be spread over with its fat, it 

 disappears witli (hkI the Almighty's help." The same writer also mentions the taking of whales — al iblénah (= la baleine) — 

 on the island of Irlandah; its young are hunted to procure "suvl" (fat and lean). It is related that the young are born in 

 the month Ilul (i. e. September^ and are hunted from October to January, and the mode of capture is described as very 

 adventurous. It is (evidently the well-known mode of whale fishery practised by the Biscayans. In other respects, the accounts 

 of tliese Arabian writers are highly embellished, and any fresh items of information about the Cetacea will scarcely be found 

 in tlieir literature.-') 



In the time of the Renaissance, we find tlie famous Conrad Gesner as a distinguished author also in Cetology. 



') For the quotations from Galen I liave to thank my lionoured colleague Prof. Stenersen. 



-) The above accounts of the Cetacea from Arabian writers have been obtained throujrh my colleague, Prof. A. Seippel, tu whom I 

 would hiMi- oiler inv sincere thanks. 



