Chap. L] 



THE DUGONG. 



69 



THE DUGONG 



of mythical physiology may be traced to the Arab sea- 

 men and the Greeks, who had watched the movements 

 of the dugong in the waters of Manaar. 



Megasthenes records the existence of a creature in the 

 ocean, near Taprobane, with the aspect of a woman 1 ; 

 and iElian, adopting and enlarging on his information, 

 peoples the seas of Ceylon with fishes having the heads 

 of lions, panthers, and rams, and, stranger still, cetaceans 

 in the form of satyrs. Statements such as these must 

 have had their origin in the hairs, which are set round 

 the mouth of the dugong, somewhat resembling a beard, 

 which iElian and Megasthenes both particularise, from 

 their resemblance to the hair of a woman ; " zeal yvvcu- 

 kgov orratv s^ovcriv alairsp avrl ifkofcd/JLCOV atcavQai Trpoarjp- 

 Trjvrac. 



The Portuguese cherished the belief in the mermaid, 



1 Megasthenes, Indica, fragm. 2 JElian, Nat Hist., lib. xyi. ch 3 

 lix. 34. xviii. 



F 3 



