GENERATION OF ANIMALS, IV. v. 



Some of those animals in which superfetation 

 occurs are able to bring to completion the nourishing 

 of their fetatioas even when there is a long interval 

 between the copulations ; these are animals which 

 (a)* belong to some kind which is abundant in semen," 

 (b) are not large in bodily size, and (c) are among 

 those which produce numerous offspring ; the reason 

 being that (c)* because they produce numerous off- 

 spring their uterus is roomy, (a) because they are 

 abundant in semen they discharge a great deal of 

 residue by way of evacuation, (6) because they are not 

 large in bodily size, but the evacuation exceeds by a 

 larger measure the nourishment which goes to the 

 fetation, they are able to cause young animals to take 

 shape at the later stage too * and to bring their 

 nourishing to completion. Also, in such animals the 

 uterus does not close up, because there is a surplus 

 amount of residue by way of evacuation. This has 

 occurred to our knowledge in the case of women : in 

 some women evacuation continues throughout the 

 time of pregnancy. In them, however, it is contrary 

 to nature (that is Mhy it injures the fetation) ; but in 

 the animals we are discussing it is natural, because 

 that is the way in which their body took shape from 

 the beginning. The hare is an example of this. 

 This is an animal in which superfetation occurs, for 

 (b)* it is not one of the large animals, (c) it produces 

 numerous offspring (since it is fissipede, and fissipede 

 animals produce numerous offspring), and (a) it is 

 abundant in semen. This is shown by its hairiness. 

 It has an excessive amount of hair ; indeed, it has 

 hair under the feet and inside the jaws, and is the 

 only animal which does so. This hairiness is a sign 

 that it has a large amount of residue ; and for this 



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