§4.1#2Διαφέρουσι δὲ τῷ σχήματι τῶν τευθίδων οἱ τεῦθοι· πλατύτερον γάρ ἐστι τὸ ὀξὺ τῶν τεύθων, ἔτι δὲ τὸ κύκλῳ πτερύγιον περὶ ἅπαν ἐστὶ τὸ κύτος· τῇ δὲ τευθίδι ἐλλείπει.
Calamaries (teuthos) differ in shape from squids (teuthis); for the sharp end of the calamaries is broader, and furthermore, the fin-like appendage runs all the way around the entire trunk, whereas in the squid it is lacking.
Ἔστι δὲ πελάγιον, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ τευθίς.
It is a deep-sea creature, just like the squid.
Μετὰ δὲ τοὺς πόδας ἡ κεφαλή ἐστιν ἁπάντων ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ποδῶν τῶν καλουμένων πλεκτανῶν.
Next to the feet, the head is in the middle of the feet, which are called tentacles, in all of them.
Ταύτης δὲ τὸ μέν ἐστι στόμα, ἐν ᾧ εἰσὶ δύο ὀδόντες· ὑπὲρ δὲ τούτων ὀφθαλμοὶ μεγάλοι δύο, ὧν τὸ μεταξὺ μικρὸς χόνδρος ἔχων ἐγκέφαλον μικρόν.
In this head is the mouth, in which are two teeth; and above these are two large eyes, between which is a small cartilage containing a small brain.
Ἐν δὲ τῷ στόματί ἐστι μικρὸν σαρκῶδες· γλῶτταν δ’ οὐκ ἔχει αὐτῶν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τούτῳ χρῆται ἀντὶ γλώττης.
In the mouth is a small fleshy substance; none of them has a tongue, but they use this instead of a tongue.
Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἔξωθεν μὲν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὸ φαινόμενον κύτος.
After this, on the outside, one can see the visible trunk.
Ἔστι δ’ αὐτοῦ ἡ σὰρξ σχιστή, οὐκ εἰς εὐθὺ μέν τοι ἀλλὰ κύκλῳ· δέρμα δ’ ἔχουσι πάντα τὰ μαλάκια περὶ ταύτην.
Its flesh is split, not in a straight line, but in a circle; and all cephalopods have skin around this.
Μετὰ δὲ τὸ στόμα ἔχουσιν οἰσοφάγον μακρὸν καὶ στενόν, ἐχόμενον δὲ τούτου πρόλοβον μέγαν καὶ περιφερῆ ὀρνιθώδη.
After the mouth, they have a long and narrow esophagus, and continuous with this a large, round crop like that of a bird.
Τούτου δ’ ἔχεται ἡ κοιλία οἷον ἤνυστρον· τὸ δὲ σχῆμα ὅμοιον τῇ ἐν τοῖς κήρυξιν ἑλίκῃ.
Continuous with this is the stomach, which is like a second stomach (gizzard); its shape is similar to the spiral of a trumpet-shell.
Ἀπὸ δὲ ταύτης ἄνω πάλιν φέρει πρὸς τὸ στόμα ἔντερον λεπτόν· παχύτερον δ’ ἐστὶ τοῦ στομάχου τὸ ἔντερον.
From this, a thin intestine leads back upwards toward the mouth; the intestine is thicker than the esophagus.
Σπλάγχνον δ’ οὐδὲν ἔχει τῶν μαλακίων, ἀλλ’ ἢν καλοῦσι μύτιν, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ θολόν.
Cephalopods have no internal organs (viscera) except for what they call the "mytis" (milt), and upon this, the ink sac.
Τοῦτον δὲ πλεῖστον αὐτῶν καὶ μέγιστον ἡ σηπία ἔχει· ἀφίησι μὲν οὖν ἅπαντα, ὅταν φοβηθῇ, μάλιστα δὲ ἡ σηπία.
The cuttlefish has this ink in the greatest quantity and size; indeed, all of them discharge it when they are frightened, but the cuttlefish does so most of all.
Ἡ μὲν οὖν μύτις κεῖται ὑπὸ τὸ στόμα, καὶ δι’ αὐτῆς τείνει ὁ στόμαχος· ᾗ δὲ τὸ ἔντερον ἀνατείνει, κάτωθεν ὁ θολός, καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ ὑμένι περιεχόμενον ἔχει τὸν πόρον τῷ ἐντέρῳ, καὶ ἀφίησι κατὰ ταὐτὸν τόν τε θολὸν καὶ τὸ περίττωμα· ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ τριχώδη ἄττα ἐν τῷ σώματι.
Now the mytis lies under the mouth, and the esophagus runs through it; where the intestine extends upwards, the ink sac is below, and, enclosed in the same membrane, it has its passage in common with the intestine, and discharges both the ink and the residue through the same outlet; they also have some hairy substances in the body.
Τῇ μὲν οὖν σηπίᾳ καὶ τῇ τευθίδι καὶ τῷ τεύθῳ ἐντός ἐστι τὰ στερεὰ ἐν τῷ πρανεῖ τοῦ σώματος, ἃ καλοῦσι τὸ μὲν σήπιον τὸ δὲ ξίφος.
In the cuttlefish, the squid, and the calamary, the hard parts are inside on the back of the body, which they call respectively the cuttlebone (sepion) and the pen (xiphos).
Διαφέρει δέ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ σήπιον ἰσχυρὸν καὶ πλατύ ἐστι, μεταξὺ ἀκάνθης καὶ ὀστοῦ, ἔχον ἐν αὑτῷ ψαθυρότητα σομφήν, τὸ δὲ τῶν τευθίδων λεπτὸν καὶ χονδρωδέστερον.
They differ: for the cuttlebone is strong and broad, intermediate between a spine and a bone, having a crumbly and porous quality within itself, while that of the squids is thin and more cartilaginous.
Τῷ δὲ σχήματι διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ κύτη.
They differ from one another in shape, just as their trunks do.
Οἱ δὲ πολύποδες οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἔσω τερεὸν τοιοῦτον οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν χονδρῶδες, ὃ γίνεται, ἐάν τις αὐτῶν παλαιωθῇ, σκληρόν.
Octopuses do not have any such hard part inside, but a cartilaginous substance around the head, which becomes hard if any of them grows old.
Τὰ δὲ θήλεα τῶν ἀρρένων διαφέρουσιν· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄρρενες ἔχουσι πόρον ὑπὸ τὸν στόμαχον, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου τείνοντα πρὸς τὰ κάτω τοῦ κύτους· ἔστι δὲ πρὸς ὃ τείνει, ὅμοιον μαστῷ· ἐν δὲ ταῖς θηλείαις δύο τε ταῦτ’ ἐστὶ καὶ ἄνω.
The females differ from the males; for the males have a passage under the esophagus, extending from the brain toward the lower part of the trunk; the part toward which it extends is similar to a breast; in the females, these are two and located higher up.
Ἀμφοτέροις δ’ ὑπὸ ταῦτα ἐρυθρὰ ἄττα σωμάτια πρόσεστιν.
In both, below these, some small red bodies are attached.
Τὸ δ’ ᾠὸν ὁ μὲν πολύπους ἓν καὶ ἀνώμαλον ἔξωθεν καὶ μέγα ἴσχει· ἔσω δὲ τὸ ὑγρόν, ὁμόχρουν ἅπαν καὶ λεῖον, χρῶμα δὲ λευκόν· τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τοῦ ᾠοῦ τοσοῦτον ὥστε πληροῦν ἀγγεῖον μεῖζον τῆς τοῦ πολύποδος κεφαλῆς.
As for the egg, the octopus has one, which is rough on the outside and large; inside, the liquid is entirely of one color and smooth, and the color is white; the quantity of the egg is so great that it fills a vessel larger than the octopus's head.
Ἡ δὲ σηπία δύο τε τὰ κύτη καὶ πολλὰ ᾠὰ ἐν τούτοις, χαλάζαις ὅμοια λευκαῖς.
The cuttlefish has two cavities, and in these are many eggs, like white hailstones.
Ἕκαστα δὲ τούτων ὡς κεῖται τῶν μορίων, θεωρείσθω ἐκ τῆς ἐν ταῖς ἀνατομαῖς διαγραφῆς.
How each of these parts is situated should be observed from the diagrams in the anatomy books.
Πάντα δὲ τὰ ἄρρενα ταῦτα τῶν θηλειῶν διαφέρει, καὶ μάλιστα ἡ σηπία· τά τε γὰρ πρανῆ τοῦ κύτους πάντα μελάντερα τῶν ὑπτίων τραχύτερά τε ἔχει ὁ ἄρρην τῆς θηλείας, καὶ διαποίκιλα ῥάβδοις, καὶ τὸ ὀρροπύγιον ὀξύτερον.
All these males differ from the females, and most of all the cuttlefish; for the male has the entire back of the trunk darker than the belly and rougher, and variegated with stripes, and the tail-end is sharper.
Ἔστι δὲ γένη πλείω πολυπόδων, ἓν μὲν τὸ μάλιστ’ ἐπιπολάζον καὶ μέγιστον αὐτῶν (εἰσὶ δὲ πολὺ μείζους οἱ πρόσγειοι τῶν πελαγίων), ἔτι δ’ ἄλλοι μικροί, ποικίλοι, οἳ οὐκ ἐσθίονται.
There are several genera of octopuses: one is the most common and largest of them (and those near the shore are much larger than those of the deep sea), and furthermore, others are small, variegated, which are not eaten.
Ἄλλα τε δύο, ἥ τε καλουμένη ἑλεδώνη, μήκει τε διαφέρουσα τῷ τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τῷ μονοκότυλον εἶναι μόνην τῶν μαλακίων (τὰ γὰρ ἄλλα πάντα δικότυλά ἐστι), καὶ ἣν καλοῦσιν οἱ μὲν βολίταιναν οἱ δ’ ὄζολιν.
There are two others: the one called heledone, which differs in the length of its feet and in being the only cephalopod with a single row of suckers (for all the others have two rows), and the one which some call bolitaina and others ozolis.
Ἔτι δ’ ἄλλοι δύο ἐν ὀστρείοις, ὅ τε καλούμενος ὑπό τινων ναυτίλος καὶ ποντίλος, ὑπ’ ἐνίων δ’ ᾠὸν πολύποδος· τὸ δ’ ὄστρακον αὐτοῦ ἐστὶν οἷον κτεὶς κοῖλος καὶ οὐ συμφυής.
Furthermore, there are two others in shells, the one called by some the nautilus and pontilos, and by some the octopus's egg; its shell is like a hollow comb and is not naturally united to the animal.
Οὗτος νέμεται πολλάκις παρὰ τὴν γῆν, εἶθ’ ὑπὸ τῶν κυμάτων ἐκκλύζεται εἰς τὸ ξηρόν, καὶ περιπεσόντος τοῦ ὀστρέου ἁλίσκεται καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ ἀποθνήσκει.
This often feeds near the shore, and is then washed up by the waves onto the dry land, and when the shell falls off, it is caught and dies on the land.
Εἰσὶ δ’ οὗτοι μικροί, τὸ εἶδος ὅμοιοι ταῖς βολιταίναις.
These are small, in form similar to the bolitainai.
Καὶ ἄλλος ἐν ὀστράκῳ οἷον κοχλίας, ὃς οὐκ ἐξέρχεται ἐκ τοῦ ὀστράκου, ἀλλ’ ἔνεστιν ὥσπερ ὁ κοχλίας, καὶ ἔξω ἐνίοτε τὰς πλεκτάνας προτείνει.
And there is another in a shell like a snail, which does not come out of its shell, but remains inside like a snail, and sometimes extends its tentacles outside.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν μαλακίων εἴρηται.
Concerning cephalopods, then, we have spoken.