O/i the Rahhit as knoion to the Ancients. 179 



ciilum of Georlssa sarrifa, which is by my brother, are drawn 

 by Capt. Godwin-Austen. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XM.. 



Fiy. 1. Georissa sarnVflr, Benson, sp. ; shell, magnified about 18 diameters ; 

 the mouth is a little turned away : 1 a, operculum, seen from 

 the inside, showing the projection, magnified ; 1 b, animal, 

 sketched in tliree difierent positions, magnified ; 1 c, lingual 

 ribbon, magnified 2;j0 diameters ; 1 d, teeth near the centre, still 

 further enlarged ; 1 <?, uncini near the margin. 



Fiy. 2. Acicida (Aonella) fersa, Benson, sp. ; shell, magnified about lo 

 diameters. The specimens sent to me by Capt. Godwin-Austen 

 differ in being more conical and less ovate, but other^x-ise agree 

 well. The shell perhaps varies slightly in form. 2 a, oper- 

 cidum, magnified. A small portion of the foot (/) remained 

 attached, and could not be removed, on accoimt of the minute- 

 ness and thinness of the operculum. 2 6, anin;al, magnified, 

 sketched in three different positions. 2 c, lingual ribbon, gi-eatly 

 magnified ; the outer teeth to the left partly turned back. 



Calcutta, December 26, 1868. 



XXV. — The Babbit (Lepus cimiculus) as known to the Ancients, 

 By the Eev. W. Houghton, M.A., F.L.S. 



The rabbit appears to have been but little known to the an- 

 cients ; the old inhabitants of Greece and Kome were not 

 plagued, as tenant farmers in this country are, with this pro- 

 lific little pest to agriculture. The rabbit in its wild state is 

 essentially a European animal. To the ancient Jews it was 

 entirely unknown ; there is no mention of it in the Bible ; it 

 is generally acknowledged that the Hebrew word (Shcijjhan) 

 rendered "coney" by the authorized version denotes the 

 Hyrax syriacus : several species of hare have been described 

 as occurring in the Bible-lands, but no kind of native rabbit. 

 Rabbits were noticed by Eussell as occm-ring rarely in the 

 vicinity of Aleppo ; but they had been introduced from 

 Europe. If we timi to Aristotle, we shall find that, in all 

 probability, the rabbit was quite unknown to him, thougli he 

 sometimes speaks as if he Avere alluding to this animal. The 

 words he uses are XayQ}o<i and Saainrov<i : the former word 

 occurs but once in his ^History of Animals,' viz. in a passage 

 (viii. 27. § 4) in wliich lie mentions that the Xaycool of Egypt 

 are smaller than those of Greece. Of the 8aav7rov<; he says: — 

 it is prudent and timid (i. l.§ 15) ; it is reti-omingent (ii. 3. § 4) ; 

 it is one of those animals which, having teeth in both jaw^s, 

 have cotyledons in the pregnant uterus (iii. 1. § 15) ; its blood, 

 like that of the stag, does not coagulate so completely as that 

 of many other animals (iii. G. § 1) ; it alone of all animals has 



