Class I. OTTER. 121 



differ specifically from the kind that frequents 

 fresh waters. Did not Aristotle place his 

 Latacc* among; the animals which seek their 

 food among fresh waters, we should imagine we 

 had here recovered this lost animal, which he 

 mentions immediately after the otter, and de- 

 scribes as being broader. Though this must 

 remain a doubt, we may with greater confidence 

 suppose the sea otter to be the Loup marin of 

 Belong which from a hearsay account, he says, 

 is found on the English coasts. He compares 

 its form to that of a wolf, and says, it feeds ra- 

 ther on fish than sheep. That circumstance 

 alone makes it probable, SibbakVs animal was 

 intended, it being well known, the otter declines 



* Toiavla Ss ettiv 6 Ts xccXspevog xacTcup, xou to craQsgiov, 

 xcci to vcchgiov, xoci svv^ig, koli r t KccXspsvy] Aa7a£. ecrrt Ss 

 ts\o TtXcctvls^ov svvoptfog, xoci oSovlag s^si ix v § 8 S z%i8<ra yag 

 vvxTcvg iroXXaxig, Tag its^i tov ito1a.ij.ov KsgxiSag sxhpvsi toig 

 ob'sTiov. Saxvsi 8s Tag av^wiCsg kcci rj svvtyig xat sx a^iyo-iv, 

 w$ Xsystri, ^syj^ig olv ots 4"><pov uxhttj. to dsT^iy^w^asy^si 

 7j Aa7a£ crxXr^ov, xai to srfog ^sTafcu Ts Tr t g (pajxyg T§i^ujy,x- 

 1og, xai Ts Tr t g sXa<ps. Aristot. Hist. Aniih. p. 905. A. 



Sunt etiam in hoc genere (sc. animalium quadrupedum quce 

 victum ex lacuhus etjluviis petunt) Jiher, satherium, satyrium, 

 lutris, latax, quce lalior lutre est, dentesque halet robustos, 

 quippe quce noctu plerumque aggrediens, virgulta proximo, suis 

 dentilus, utferro prcecidat. Lutris etiam hominem mordet, nee 

 desistit (utferunt) nisi fracti ossis crepitum senscrit. Lataci 

 pilus durus, specie inter pilum vituli marini el cervi, 



t Belon de la Nature des Poissons, p. 28. pL 29. 



