On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments. 65 



II. FcRffi. 



A. Plantigrada. 



The first animal we refer to the order Ferse, is evidently a 

 bear^ with a short body, thick limbs, and a short tail. Tliis 

 bear, placed in the upper part of the mosaic, above and to the 

 left of the animal named ta/iovg, is there designated by the name 

 of KgaxoTT*;, or K^oKovTXi, According to Diodorus Siculus (lib. iii. 

 p. 168), and Pliny (lib. viii. cap. 21), those animals named 

 crocottar, which, according to them, combined the nature of 

 the wolf and that of the dog, were found in Ethiopia. It is 

 certain that the bear was very common at Home ; for Caligula 

 caused four hundred of them to be destroyed in the Circus, 

 with nearly an equal number of panthers. It was for long a 

 matter of astonishment how Ptolemy, in the celebrated enter- 

 tainments which he gave in honour of his father Ptolemy Soter, 

 caused a considerable number of white bears to be killed, be- 

 cause it was not known that this variety occurs any where else 

 than in the frozen seas. But since Ruppel has found this spe- 

 cies near Mount Libanus, we can understand how Ptolemy 

 could easily have brought them from that region. It is at the 

 same time true, that Dionis and Pliny himself, have given a dif- 

 ferent origin to the animal which we refer to the genus bear 

 (Ursus, Lin.), without at the same time being able to deter- 

 mine the variety with any kind of accuracy *. 



B. Digitigrada. 



The first of the Digitigrada of which we shall speak, accord- 

 ing to most writers, represents the otter (Mustela Intra, Lin.). 

 The general form of this terrestrial quadruped, which besides 

 holds a fish in its mouth, further demonstrates the correctness 

 of the opinion. There are two of them, placed in the upper 

 division, near two fresh-water tortoises. Near these otters we 

 read the word Evuiv^^h, or Evulgff, a name which was common to 

 the otter, and to a kind of serpent. 



Herodotus has also spoken in many parts of his works of 

 these aquatic mammalia. He says (lib. ii. cap. 72) that these 



" Dion. Cass., lib. Ixxvi. p. :JC0; and I'liny, lib. viii. caj). 30. 

 VOL. XVIII. NO. XXXV. JANUAKY 1835. E 



