58 pliny's natural HISTORY. [Book XL 



just like the sting of the scorpion, and it is through these that 

 they eject their venom. The writers who have made the most 

 diligent enquiries on the subject, inform us that this venom is 

 nothing but the gall of the serpent, and that it is conveyed 

 to the month by certain veins which run beneath the spine ; 

 indeed, there are some who state that there is only one poison- 

 fang, and that being barbed at the end, it is bent backwards 

 when the animal has inflicted a bite. Other writers, however, 

 affirm that on such an occasion the fang falls out, as it is very 

 easily displaced, but that it soon grows 24 again; this tooth, 

 they say, is thus wanting in the serpents which we see 

 handled about by persons. 25 It is also stated that this fang 

 exists in the tail of the scorpion, and that most of these animals 

 have no less than three. The teeth of the viper are concealed 

 in the gums : the animal, being provided with a similar venom, 

 exercises the pressure of its fangs for the purpose of instilling 

 the poison in its bite. 



No winged creatures have teeth, with the sole exception of 

 the bat. The camel is the only one among the animals with- 

 out horns, that has no fore-teeth 26 in the upper jaw. None of 

 the horned animals have serrated 27 teeth. Snails, too, have 

 teeth ; a proof of which are the vetches which we find gnawed 

 away by snails of the very smallest size. To assert that among 

 marine animals, those that have shells, and those that are 

 cartilaginous have fore-teeth, and that the sea-urchin has five 

 teeth, I am very much surprised how such a notion could have 

 possibly 28 arisen. With insects the sting supplies the place of 

 teeth ; the ape has teeth just like those in man. 29 The elephant 



24 There is always one fang, at least, ready to supply the place of the one 

 in front, if lost by "any accident. . . 



*s Like the jugglers of the East at the present day. But it is very 

 doubtful whether the poison fang is in all instances previously extracted 

 from the serpents which they handle. _ 



26 But the camel, as well as the lama, has an incisive hone, provided 

 with an incisive tooth on each side, and has canine and molar teeth as well. 



« If by this term he means teeth separated from each other, the asser- 

 tion is incorrect, as in these animals we find the. molars separated from the 

 lower incisives by a very considerable space. 



28 Cuvier says, as far as the sea-urchin is concerned, very simply, and 

 merely by looking at it, as its five teeth are very apparent. 



29 The incisors are in number, and very nearly in appearance, like those 

 of man. The canines are different in shape, though similar in number. 

 What he says about the elephant, is peculiar to that of India. 



