Woodcut of a "fish named Orobon" from Des Monstres et prodiges by Ambroise Paré, 1573. Des Monstres is filled with unsubstantiated accounts of sea devils, marine sows, and monstrous animals with human faces. With its extensive discussion of reproduction a

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Woodcut of a "fish named Orobon" from Des Monstres et prodiges by Ambroise Paré, 1573. Des Monstres is filled with unsubstantiated accounts of sea devils, marine sows, and monstrous animals with human faces. With its extensive discussion of reproduction and illustrations of birth defects, the book invited accusations of pornography. "The Arabs inhabiting Mount Mazovan, which is along the Red Sea, ordinarily live on a fish named Orobon from nine to ten feet long, and wide in accordance with and in proportion to its length, having made like those of the Crocodile. This one is wondrously ferocious against other fish."

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Size: 3600px × 3169px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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