Chap. 26.] FISHES. 397 



and the dorade.'' Among the river-fish, the silurus ^ is af- 

 fected by the rising of the Dog-star, an^ at other times it is 

 always sent to sleep by thunder. The. same is also believed 

 to be the case with the sea-fish called cyprinus.' In addition 

 to this, the whole sea is sensible^ of the rising of this star, a 

 thing which is more especially to be observed in the ' Bosporus : 

 for there sea- weeds and fish are seen floating on the surface, all 

 of which have been thrown up from' the bottom. 



CHAP, 26. (17.) THE MTJllET. 



One singular propensity of the mullet' has afforded a subject 

 for laughter;* when it is frightened, it hides its head, and 

 fancies that the whole of its body is concealed. ' Their sala9ious 

 propensities' render them so unguarded, that in Phoenicia and 

 in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, at the time of coupling, 



is true, he says, that the "onos," or "ass" of the Greeks, the "asellas" 

 of the Romans, was also knoAvn as the yalbe, hy the Greeks ; but still this 

 onos had very different characteristics from those of the Gadus merluccins ; 

 and among all the gadi of Linnteus, he finds the only one that presents 

 any of them to be the Gadus tricirrhatus, or sea- weasel, which he there- 

 fore thinks to represent the ancient " asellus." 



" Aurata, " golden-fish." CuTier observes, that by the Greeks this was 

 called xpuffo^puc, " eye-brow of gold." It is the French daurade of the 

 Mediterranean, the "Sparus aurata" of Linnaeus, and is remarkable 

 for a golden line in form of a crescent over the eyes. Ajasson remarks, 

 that it was also called 'liiviaxos, and suggests that it may have been ori- 

 ginally called so from being first found in the Ionian Sea. From an 

 epigram of Martial, B. xiii. Ep. 110, it would appear that this fish was 

 considered a very great dainty, and that it was fattened with Lucrine 

 oysters. 



^ This fish has been already mentioned in o. 17 of the present Book. 

 Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 20, says this of the glanis. 



1 Furttier mention is made of this fish in o. 74 of the present Book. 

 Aristotle mentions it in B. viii. c. 25, but says nothing about it being a 

 sea-fish ; while Dorion, as quoted by Athenseus, B. vii., expressly mentions 

 it among the lake and river fish. Hence Balechamps seems inclined to 

 censure our author for this addition ; but we find Oppian, Halieut. B. i. U. 

 101 and 692, speaking of the sea cyprintis; and Athenseus speaks of the 

 cyprinus of Arutotle as being a sea-fish. 



" Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c, 20. This subject is also treated of 

 by Pliny in B. ii. c. 40, and is again mentioned in B. xviii. c. 58. 



' Cuvier remarks, that it does notappear that the characteristics of the 

 mullet, here mentioned by Pliny, have been observed in modern times. 



* The same story is told of the ostrich. 



* Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 4, states to a similar effect. ' 



