1. Marine animals also have many artful ways of procuring their food, for the stories that are told of the batrachus, which is called the fisher, are true, and so are those of the narce. For the batrachus has appendages above its eyes, of the length of a hair, with a round extremity to each like a bait; it buries itself in the sand or mud, and raises these appendages above the surface, and when the small fish strike them, it draws them down, till it brings the fish within reach of its mouth. 2. The narce stupefies any fish it may wish to master, with the peculiar force which it has in its body, and then takes and feeds upon them; it lies concealed in sand and mud, and captures as they swim over it any fish that it can take and stupefy; of this circumstance many persons have been witnesses; the trygon also hides itself, but not in the same manner; the following is a proof of their mode of life, for they are often taken with the cestreus in their stomach, which is the swiftest of fishes, and they are the slowest; and the batrachus, when nothing is left on the hair-like appendages, is taken in an emaciated condition. The narce also has plainly caused stupefaction in men. 3. The onus, batus, psetta, and rhine also bury themselves in the sand, and when they have hidden themselves, the appendage which is in their mouth stands up, this the fishermen call their staff, and the small fish approach it as if it was the sea-weed, on which they usually live. Wherever the anthias is found there are no obnoxious creatures; when this sign is observed, those who collect sponges dive for them there, and call the anthias the sacred fish; this is only a coincidence, just as the pig and partridge are never found where there are snails, for they eat them all. 4. The marine-serpent, in colour and in the form of its body, resembles the conger, but it is darker, and more powerful. If it is captured and allowed to escape, it buries itself in the sand, which it pierces with its snout, for its snout is sharper than that of a serpent. The creature called scolopendra when it has swallowed the hook turns itself inside out, till the hook is ejected, when it turns to its original form. The scolopendra, like that which inhabits the land, is attracted by the smell of cooked meat; it does not bite with the mouth, but stings with the contact of the whole body, like the creatures called sea-nettles. 5. The fish called alopex, when one of them has swallowed the hook, assist each other in this matter, as the scolopendra also does, for they collect together round the line and bite it off; in some places, where the water is swift and deep, they are taken with many hooks in them. The amiæ also collect together when they see any obnoxious creature near them, and the largest swim round them in a circle; when attacked, they defend themselves; they have strong teeth, and the lamia and other creatures when attacking them have been seen to be repulsed with wounds.