CHAP. 40. (24.)—VARIOUS KINDS OF FLAT FISH.

There is another kind of flat fish, which, instead of bones, has cartilage, such, for instance, as the raia,[2481] the pastinaca,[2482] the squatina,[2483] the torpedo,[2484] and those which, under their respective Greek names, are known as the ox,[2485] the lamia,[2486] the eagle,[2487] and the frog.[2488] In this number, also, the squali [2489] ought to be included, although they are not flat fish. Aristotle was the first to call these fish by the one generic name of σελάχη,[2490] which he has given them: we, however, have no mode of distinguishing them, unless, indeed, we choose to call them the “cartilaginous” fishes. All these fish are carnivorous,[2491] and feed lying on their backs, just as dolphins do, as already [2492] noticed; while the other fishes,[2493] too, are oviparous, this one kind, with the exception of that known as the sea-frog, is viviparous, like the cetacea.[2494]