. Sketches of the natural history of Ceylon; with narratives and anecdotes illustrative of the habits and instincts of the mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, &c. including a monograph of the elephant ... Zoology; Elephants. Chap. I.] 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"; and ^lian, adopting and enlarging on his information, peoples the seas
. Sketches of the natural history of Ceylon; with narratives and anecdotes illustrative of the habits and instincts of the mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, &c. including a monograph of the elephant ... Zoology; Elephants. Chap. I.] 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"; and ^lian, 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 ^lian and Megasthenes both particularise, from their resemblance to the hair of a woman; " koI yvvai- Kwv oiraiv s'^ovcriv olarTTSp dvrl TrXoKOfiav uKavOai, Trpoa-^p- TIJVTM.'''^ The Portuguese cherished the belief in the mermaid, ' Megasthestes, Indica, lix. 34. ^ JElian, Nat. Sist, lib. rri. eh. xviii. F 3. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Tennent, James Emerson, Sir, 1804-1869. London, Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectelephants, booksubjectzoology, bookye
