Chap. 84.] ANIMALS WHICH INJURE STRANGERS, ETC. 353 



Spain namely, and the Balearic isles. In Gyrene, the frogs 

 were formerly dumb, and this species still exists, although 

 croaking ones were carried over there from the continent. 

 At the present day, even, the frogs in the island of Seriphos 

 are dumb ; but when they are carried to other places, they 

 croak ; the same thing is also said to have taken place at 

 Sicandrus, a lake of Thessaly. 58 In Italy, the bite of the 

 shrew-mouse 59 is venomous ; an animal which is not to be found 

 in any region beyond the Apennines. In whatever country 

 it exists, it always dies immediately if it goes across the rut 

 made by a wheel. Upon Olympus, a mountain of Mace- 

 donia, there are no wolves, nor yet in the isle of Crete. 60 In 

 this island there are neither foxes, nor bears, nor, indeed, any 

 kind of baneful animal, 61 with the exception of the phalangium, 

 a species of spider, of which I shall speak in its appropriate 

 place. 62 It is a thing still more remarkable, that in this island 

 there are no stags, except in the district of Cydon j 63 the same 

 is the case with the wild boar, the woodcock, 64 and the hedge- 

 hog. In Africa, there are neither wild boars, stags, deer, nor 

 bears. 



CHAP. 84. (59.) ANIMALS WHICH INJURE STRANGERS ONLY, AS 



ALSO ANIMALS WHICH INJURE THE NATIVES OF THE COUNTRY 

 ONLY, AND WHERE THEY ARE FOUND. 



Besides this, there are certain animals, which are harmless 

 to the natives of the country, but destroy strangers ; such are 



58 JElian, B. ii. c. 37, gives the same account of the frogs of Seriphos 

 and the lake of Thessaly, but gives the name of Pierus to the lake. B. 



59 " Mus araneiis ; the ' shrew-mouse/ " according to Cuvier, " La musa- 

 raigne n'est pas venimeuse. II s'en faut beaucoup qu'elle n'existe pas au 

 nord des Apennins ; et elle ne perit point passe qu'elle a traverse uiie 

 orniere, quoique souvent elle puisse y etre ecrasee. C'est un des quadrupedes 

 que Ton tue le plus aiseinent par un coup leger." Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 

 468. B. 



60 ^Elian, B. iii. c. 32, gives the same account, which he professes to have 

 taken from Theophrastus. B. 



61 This is also stated by ^Elian, 



62 B. xi. c. 23, and B. xxix. c. 27.B. 



63 See B. iv. c. 20. 



64 "Attagen* ;" the commentators have suspected some inaccuracy with 

 respect to this word, as we have no other remarks on birds in this part of 

 Pliny's work ; Lemaire, vol. iii. pp. 567, 568. B. 



VOL. II. A A 



