104 THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS , [ NPeee 
cap. 8, Ist. century), Frorus (Lib. 2), Senzca (litt. 82), Sinvius 
Iraticus (Lib. 6), Autus Grxrius (Lib. 6, cap. 3), Onostus, ZoNARES, 
Dioporus Sicutus, VoLETERRANUS (Commentariorum Urbanorum libri 
38, book 12), Purr. Marryr (Decad. 1, lib. 10), Baxrus (Posidoni 
Vita et Rehgqumae, p. 115), Aruianus, VERGILIUS, etc., were most 
probably nothing but pythons. 
The various kinds of Serpens marinus alluded to by AxistoTELES 
and Purius, and afterwards described and figured by many other 
authors, evidently belong to the sea-eels, e. g. those of Pére JEan 
Baptiste Lapat in 1722, or were doubtless real sea-snakes , which 
reach no greater length than about twelve feet. 
For these reasons we will pass all the descriptions of these dif- 
ferent animals, and review only reports of no earlier date than 
the year 1500 A. D. 
Having examined all the descriptions and figures of the Great 
Sea-Serpent published from 1500 A.D. up to this day, we come © 
to the conclusion, as we have already stated above, that some of 
the so-called sea-serpents were fishes of slender form, others were 
cuttles of extraordinary dimensions (Cephalopoda Decapoda Chon- 
drophora). In all these cases it is not impossible, and sometimes 
not difficult for a zoologist, who is familiar with these creatures 
and their habits, to explain those observations, but the greater 
part of the accounts of Great Sea-Serpents do zof agree with the 
well-known shape of sea-weeds and cuttles, zor with the habits of 
porpoises. Mr. Lex tries a few times to identify the Sea-Serpent 
with these kinds of animals, but all who saw the sea-serpent 
moving with vertical undulations, and figured it thus, knew the 
habits of those animals, and some of them testified, that it could 
not have been porpoises, which they knew well enough to be sure 
of it. I will add here that porpoises move irregularly and have 
dorsal fins, which must of course be visible whenever they appear 
on the surface, whilst in none of the accounts mentioning the 
sea-serpent moving in vertical undulations, there is any question 
of dorsal fins visible on the coils of the sea-serpent. 
But let us now pass to the accounts that have come within 
our reach, and peruse them in order of their date. 
Z 
B. — 1522. — (See Ouaus Macnus, Historia de gentibus, etc.) 
“There is also another serpent of an astonishing size in an island 
