The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Fabio Colonna (1567 - 1640)
References in Documents:
POPOTAMUS. If we
respect his Figure, he were more
properly called BUPOTAMUS, or
RIVER-OXE.
And accordingly the Wasser- Ocks; and the
The
same Animal, which in the Book of Job is
called
BEHEMOTH; as is solidly proved by
Horse: deluded,
'tis likely, by the Name. d)
d)
Illustr
numOx, and
pictured with four or five Claws like a Bear;
neither truly.
the first that hath given any tollerable Description of
him.
Yet as to the Teeth, he is mistaken, comparing them all
to
those of a Horse: probably because they were not yet
grown. e)
lum. lib. de
Aquat. &
Terrest.e) But
grown, hath given a most accurate Description hereof,
his principal Characters being these; Four yards and half
long, about two yards high, a yard and half broad. Short
leg'd. Cloven-hoofed; yet not with two, but four Hoofs.
Tailed
like a Tortoise. (Or like a Hog, (f)f)
and others
quoted by
Bochart
twists in
the same manner) Head almost like an Ox. His
Chaps wide. His
Eyes small. His fore Teeth prodigiously
great, being some of
them ½ a foot round about, above ¼
of a
foot long; as is evident in the Skull here preserved;
and
other particulars mention'd by
Description hereof.
POPOTAMUS. If we respect his Figure, he were more
properly called BUPOTAMUS, or RIVER-OXE.
And accordingly the
Wasser-
Ocks; and the
Ocks
The same Animal, which in the Book of
Jobis called
BEHEMOTH; as is solidly proved by
Horse: deluded, 'tis likely, by the Name.
d)
d)
Illustr
num
Ox, and
pictured with four or five Claws like a
Bear; neither truly.
the first that hath given any tollerable Description of him.
Yet as to the Teeth, he is mistaken, comparing them all to
those of a Horse: probably because they were not yet
grown.
e)
lum. lib. de
Aquat. &
Terrest.
e) But
grown, hath given a most accurate Description hereof,
his principal Characters being these; Four yards and half
long, about two yards high, a yard and half broad. Short
leg'd. Cloven-hoofed; yet not with two, but four Hoofs.
Tailed like a
Tortoise. (Or like a Hog, (
f)
f)
and others
quoted by
Bochart
twists in the same manner) Head almost like an Ox. His
Chaps wide. His Eyes small. His fore Teeth prodigiously
great, being some of them ½ a foot round about, above ¼
of a foot long; as is evident in the Skull here preserved;
and other particulars mention'd by
Description hereof.
His Teeth, says
against Steel, produce sparks of fire. And thence concludes
it
probable, That this Animal, by striking his Teeth one
against
another, in the night time, might produce the like,
and so
seem, as it were, to vomit or breath out fire; a
thing
attributed to him by the Ancients. But the error of
this
Conjecture is double: First in his not considering, That
the
fire (could any be produced by striking Steel against
these
Teeth) would be struck not out of the Teeth, but
out of the
Steel. And next, In that, in truth, no fire can
be produced by
either striking of these Teeth one against
another, or against
Steel it self; as I have try'd.
by Sir
The Head about two
feet. The Neck, from the hinder
part of the Head, almost a
foot and ½. The Trunk, from
the fore-Ribs to the Tail,
four feet. The Tail, seven.
From the top of the Back to the
Breast, a foot and ½
high.
The Orbites of the Eyes proportionably little;
what ever
The Articulations of the lower Jaw with the upper; and
of the
Occiput with the foremost Vertebra of the Neck; are
here both
made in the same manner, as in other Quadru
peds: notwithstanding the
Tradition of his moving the
upper Jaw.
The Teeth are about threescore, thirty in each Jaw.
All of them
Claviculares, or Peg-Teeth, not much
unlike
the Tusks of a Mastiff; and scarce bigger:
notwithstand
ing that a)a)
l. 2. c. 10
And yet, whereas a Dog hath but four Tusks, or exerted
Teeth, in this Animal being all of that figure, their smallness,
with respect to so great a Head, is fully compensated by
their number. For the most part, those that are new
and not
worn, are toothed, like a small Saw, on their
sides.
The Vertebræ, in all, sixty. Those of
the Neck, are seven,
as in a Man. The first whereof, in a Man
called the Atlas, hath a Processus in the figure of the Epiglottis. The
other six, have each
one Processus or Prominent Part, which
is long, broad, sharp, and
upright: and two that are trans
verse, and short; to
which are joyned, by a Cartilage, so
many Ossa mucronata, one shorter than another
from the
Head toward the Trunk. But the Vertebræ, one lesser than
another, from the
Trunk towards the Head.
The Vertebræ of the Back, nineteen;
that is, three sevens
running one into another. Each of which
hath three
Prominent Parts, which are sharp, broad, and
long; one
perpendicular, and two that are transverse, or at
right
angles.
The Ribs 24, twelve on each side. Seven of which, have
each of
them double Cartilages, that is, one after
another,
appendent to them.
The fore part of the Sternum is plainly bony.
The hin
der part, cartilaginous; shaped like the Os Hyoides in a
Man.
The Vertebræ of the Tail, are 34; or
(if you add the
last of the Trunk as common to both) 35; that
is seven
times seven. The first fourteen, have each three Prominent
Parts, like those of the Vertebræ in the Back. The next
nineteen, have
only an upright Processus. The last of all,
hath none. The first 14, are double, in number to those
of the Neck, the next 19, are equal to those of the Back;
the
last answers to the Head. To all the Vertebræ of
the Tail, except the last, are
also subjoyned so many
Ossa Mucronata, directly opposite to the
upright Processus.
The Shoulder-Blades are two on each side; each ½ foot
long.
The Bones of the fore-Foot, 27. The Thigh-Bone near
a foot
long; an inch and ¼ over. The Leg-Bones, two;
each a
little above ½ a foot long; and of equal thickness,
sc. about ¼ of an inch over. The Foot
strictly so call'd, the
length of the Thigh. The Bones of the
Pedium, four.
The Fingers or Toes,
five. The inmost, the thickest, like
a Thumb. From thence, the
third, the longest. The
Bones of the Thumb, three; of the next
Finger, four; of
the next, five; of the two outmost, four; in
all 20. All
armed with black Claws, a little crooked, and not
much
above an inch long.
The Hip-Bones are three; each of them ½ a foot long.
The Bones of the hinder Foot, 24. The Thigh-Bone
above a foot
long, and an inch and ½ over. The Leg Bones
almost
eight inches long. The inmost, above an inch
over; the other,
but ½ an inch. The Foot, so called, the
length of the
Thigh. The Bones of the Pedium, four.
The Toes, four; whereof the inmost, the greatest; the
third,
the longest. The Bones of the great Toe, three;
of the next,
four; of the third and fourth, five. The
Claws somewhat bigger
than in the fore-Foot.
Amongst other things worthy of note, the senselesness
of the
tradition of the Crocodiles moving his upper
Jaw, is
plain from the structure of the Bones, that is, the
Articu
lation only of the Occiput with the Neck, and of the nether
Jaw with
the upper, as above said.
The first Author of it was
not only of this Creature, but of all
others, which have a
long Head, and a wide Rictus, that when they open their
Mouths, they seem
to move both Jaws; as both the Viper,
and the Lizard. And for the same reason,
a)
a)
Aquatil
say as much of the Hippopotamus, that he
moves the upper
Jaw, as the Crocodile.
So all Birds, especially with long
Bills, shew the
contemporary motion of both the Mandibulæ; the Musculi
splenii pulling back the Occiput,
and so
a little raising the upper, while the Musculi Digastrici pull
de Hist.
Anim, c. 11. & lib. 3.
c. 7.
Animals, only the Crocodile moveth the upper Jaw. So
that he speaks of
it, as a motion strange and peculiar; as
if the upper Mandible
did make an Articulation with the
Cranium: contrary to what is here seen. And
if we will
hear
plainly as he
doth his own, he goes further, and saith,
(a)
a)
lib. 5Crocodile doth not only move his upper
Jaw,
but that his nether Jaw is immoveable. Than which As
sertion, to one that hath any competent knowledge in
Anatomy, and seeth the Head and lower Jaw of this Ani
mal articulated in the same way, as in other
Animals,
nothing can appear more ridiculous.
The Parret only, saith e) with the Crocodile,
moves the upper Jaw: Yet the
same is affirmed of the e)
236. S. 1
Hippopotamus, by Lizard, by
and of
the Phænicopter, by
what I have said under the Description of the
Skeleton of
a Crocodile, and in what sense it is absurdly said of them
all. In their Cheeks, saith f) f)
N. I. Occid
on the top of their Heads, in a certain Tumor, there lies,
about August, a thick Worm; all which, in a
little time,
fall out of their own accord, without any sign
left of their
ever being there. They are a gregarious sort of
Birds. (g) g)
118
They breed very numerously in both the
badosh)
out of
Romanus
to set people to watch
their Rice-Fields, least they should
spoil them. (h) The flesh of their Chickens
eats just like a
Pigeon. (i)i)
Pastinaca marina lævis.Fabius
Columna ,(
Columna
a)
a)
Aq. & Ter
rest
both of them seem to be different from the Fish here. It is
somewhat phantastically stuffed; yet I shall give the De
scription as well as it will admit.
Cochlea
Turbine aculeato. This shell is described and figur'd by
a)
a) In his
PurpuraBut better in
his Book
quat. &
Terrestr
it. The Mouth is a kind of long Oval. The
right Lip
is spread, and as it were doubled outward. The Back
faced
with smooth Plates like so many more lips, carry'd ob
liquely from the left Lip to the Turban, and there set
with short but very sharp
Spikes. The spaces betwixt these
are ½ an inch broad,
wrinkled with very small furrows,
and curiously stained with
pillars of white and brown lines
meeting together in several
Arches, as if it had been done by
a Painter.
Purpura
Aculeis plicatis longissimis. By
Aculeis plicatis longissimis
Echinata.Olearius gives a good Figure, (
a)
a)
fig. 1
the Description, with the Title of
Purpura muricata sive
Murex Rostratus parvus. I will add my own a little fuller.
Murex Rostratus parvus
The main Body is not much bigger than a good big
Nutmeg. But hath a Horn no less than two inches and
½ long, near the Mouth ¼ of an inch over, and sharp-pointed.
Almost a Pipe, but a little open underneath by the length.
Along the right Lip and the
Turbanit self, in three Rows,
stand several long sharp plated or gutter'd Spikes triangu
larly. But on the
Turbanthey a little anticipate each other.
As also do the Plates of the several Rounds. The right Lip
is in some sort toothed, the left turned outward.
i. e. with
the greater doubled Spikes collaterally subdivided into
lesser. Of these there are four. Two of them white,
described
by Purpura sive Murex Pelagius
marmoreus. Another, ash-colour'd; and a
fourth,
brown.
All Purples have a Canale or Gutter'd Horn
long or
short, in which is lodged that part which is called
the b)
Column
Purpura
Tongue; but performs the same Office as the
Gills in other
Fishes. (b) The Animal creeps and directs its own
way
with its Horns, like a Snail: yet
hath it not four, but two
only. (c)c)
Lyster de
Cochl
The Purple Tincture it yields, is contained
betwixt that
part which is called the Papaver and the Neck. (d) d)
Hist.
Anim.
lib. 5. c. 15
a
different degree; in some, more upon the Red, like that
of Cochinele; in others, more upon the Blew,
like that of
Violets. It was anciently (pressed out of the
living (e)e)
Worm
Animal, and) used especially for the deying of Silks. But
is now grown out of use, as
is likely, from the great
Fucus, which the Roccella, wherewith Silk-Dyers do now make very rich Purples
of all varieties, with less labour and charge. (a)a)
lum
pura
ends in a
gutter'd-Horn.
it with the Name of
Bucciunm Rostratum. (b)b)
Aquatil. &
Terrest
Buccicochlea. So I call it,
because, in Figure, it approaches to the Wilk; to the Common
Snail, in the thinness of its shell. d)
d)
Aquat. &
Terrest
and figures this with the Title of Buccinum exoticum variegatum.
Turbocochlea. The rounds of this
sort wind from the Mouth to the right Hand, and that very
obliquely, in number six, speckled with
Chestnutspots in
Rows. The Mouth very long, and one Lip ridged. 'Tis
thin like a common
Snail-shell.Columna (
a)
a)
Aquat. &
Terrest
figures one pretty like this by the Name of
Turbo alter
minor.
minor
and also winding from the Mouth toward the right Hand.
There are about fifty of them in a Bottle. They are of a
brown colour; and thin as the shell of the common
Snail.
Their Mouth almost round. The right Lip hath a little
Angle. It hath nine rounds with very small
transvers
Striæ.
Striæ
Title of
Turbo Terrestris non descriptus. Mr.
b)
b)
Cochl
it
Buccinum pullum; and very aptly compares it, both as to
shape and bigness, to an
Oat. He saith it is found in
old Trees, and in
Garden-walls.
two sorts of these; the one furrow'd, the other not, described
and figur'd by
Buccinum Persicum
eburneum nitidum maculosum. Of all these here are several
eburneum nitidum maculosum
small Ones.
Trochus. This is somewhat
more prolonged than some others of this kind, the Base
broader, and the Rounds in a level. Of
this sort here are
two great Ones, curiously stained with
Crimson waves
from the Base (which is
about four inches over) to the
Cone. It is of kin to that which by Turbo Persicus maximus.
sides. The Teeth of the outer Lip are the lesser; they
stand not on the edge of the Lip, but deep in the Mouth,
just over against the inner Lip: where the white parts of
the shell on both sides are defined or circumscribed by a
Circle, whose centre is at the edge of the inner Lip. Out
wardly, the shell is speckled with white, red, and black
Spots, and ruged with spiral wrinkles. One like to this is
described by
Cochlea marina
marmorea.
marmorea
figur'd by
Concha utroq; latere
se colligens. It hath a transvers Angle or Ridge in the mid
se colligens
dle. Where also, there is a distinct piece, most closely inlaid
into the Back of the Shell. The Lips also are both even.
about. Whereby
the edges also are very angular. The Seat
of the Animal white. c)
c)
Aquat. &
Terr. c.
50
scribed this
by the Name of Lepas sive Patella maxima
striata.
Concha Valvis Fistulosis.
Described by Concha exotica margine in Mucronem emissa;
who hath also figur'd it well.
It hath not only several
Furrows or Gutters reaching
from the Navle to the edges round about, but the Fur
rows are also cover'd over, and so properly fistular;
whence
I have nam'd the Shell. The circumference or
kind of likeness to Sword-points. But
somewhat
obsurdly given, unless instead of divers, there had
been one
only.
Concha Valvis Fistulosis.
Described by
Concha exotica mar
gine in Mucronem emissa; who hath also figur'd it well.
gine in Mucronem emissa
It hath not only several Furrows or Gutters reaching
from the
Navleto the edges round about, but the Fur
rows are also cover'd over, and so properly fistular;
whence I have nam'd the Shell. The circumference or
kind of likeness to Sword-points. But
somewhat obsurdly given, unless instead of divers, there had
been one only.
Base. Described and figur'd by
of
Concha
chief marks hereof are, that it hath a great number
(twenty or more) of slender Joynts, about ¼ of an inch
long, placed parallel, upon a strait
Base.
figur'd by
Concha Maxima
marmorea exotica imbricata. It is also called
marmorea exotica imbricata
Concha Tri
dachna:because it contains as much meat, as a Man can
dachna:
swallow at thrice. A certain number put for an uncertain:
for some of them hold meat enough almost to fill a mans
belly, being a foot in length, or rather in expansion or
breadth; this here ¼ of a foot. The Back is waved with
broad and deep Furrows, and the edges indented answerably.
It is (
c)
c)
Balanus compressa.
Com
monly called the BARNACLE-SHELL; and CONCHA
ANATIFERA. Because supposed to be the Egg of the
Barnacle. And by some (b) b)
Bœthius
quoted by
Gesnerand our Countryman Dr.
ner
the Orcades there are certain Worms
grow in Hollow-Trees,
which by degrees obtain the Head, Feet,
Wings and all the
feathers of a Water-Fowl, which grows to the bigness of a
Goose.
this shell. (a) a)
59toward the
end.
Sir
was once induced to
publish his Description of the same. (b)
But having examined the Shell it self, I am of Opinion, b)
Transac. N
That all that is said of a Bird, is fabulous. c)
would have it to belong to a kind of Cancellus. But I rather c)
Cent. 6
agree with Centre-Shell; as being
fixed
in like manner upon it's Base, and composed
of several
shelly parts.
a)
a)
c. 1Arum Ægyptiacum:
but called by b)
Colocasia Strogulorhiza s. rotundâ
Radice; not rightly, as b)
Pl. lib. 2.
c. 18
their Descriptions well reach it.
a)
a)
c. 1
Arum Ægyptiacum:
but called by
b)
Colocasia Strogulorhiza s. rotundâ
Radice; not rightly, as
Radice
b)
Pl. lib. 2.
c. 18
their Descriptions well reach it.
riband.
Religions sake,