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Aristotle · History of Animals §4.3

Anatomy of Crabs, Discharge Mechanism, and Sex Differences

Passage 54 of 189 · Greek

Summary

This section outlines the differences in the naming and structure of internal organs between blooded and bloodless animals, and details the anatomy of crabs, including their eyes, mouth parts, water-discharge mechanism, digestive system, and sexual dimorphism.

§4.3Συμβέβηκε δὲ τῶν μὲν ἐναίμων τὰ ἐντὸς μόρια ὀνόματα ἔχειν· πάντα γὰρ σπλάγχνα ἔχει τὰ ἔσωθεν· τῶν δ’ ἀναίμων οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ κοινὸν τούτοις καὶ ἐκείνοις πᾶσι κοιλία καὶ στόμαχος καὶ ἔντερον.
And it happens that the internal parts of blooded animals have names, for all of them have internal viscera, but none of the bloodless animals has them; however, stomach, esophagus, and intestine are common to all of these and those.
Οἱ δὲ καρκίνοι, περὶ μὲν τῶν χηλῶν καὶ τῶν ποδῶν, ὅτι ἔχουσι καὶ πῶς ἔχουσιν, εἴρηται πρότερον· ὡς δ’ ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ πάντες τὴν δεξιὰν ἔχουσι μείζω χηλὴν καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν.
As for crabs, concerning their claws and feet, that they have them and how they have them has been said before; and for the most part, they all have the right claw larger and stronger.
Εἴρηται δὲ πρότερον καὶ περὶ ὀφθαλμῶν, ὅτι εἰς τὸ πλάγιον βλέπουσιν οἱ πλεῖστοι.
It has also been said before concerning their eyes, that most of them look to the side.
Τὸ δὲ κύτος τοῦ σώματος ἕν ἐστιν ἀδιόριστον, ἔτι δὲ κεφαλή, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο μόριον.
And the trunk of the body is one and undivided, and furthermore so is the head, and whatever other part there is.
Ἔχουσι δ’ ὀφθαλμοὺς οἱ μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πλαγίου ἄνω ὑπὸ τὸ πρανὲς εὐθὺς πολὺ διεστῶτας, ἔνιοι δ’ ἐν μέσῳ καὶ ἐγγὺς ἀλλήλων, οἷον οἱ Ἡρακλεωτικοὶ καὶ αἱ μαῖαι.
And some have their eyes far apart from each other, on the side, upwards immediately under the upper surface, while others have them in the middle and close to one other, such as the Heracleotic crabs and the spider-crabs.
Ὑποκάτω δὲ τὸ στόμα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ὀδόντας δύο ὥσπερ ὁ κάραβος, πλὴν οὐ στρογγύλοι οὗτοι ἀλλὰ μακροί.
And the mouth is underneath the eyes, and in it are two teeth just like the spiny lobster, except that these are not round but long.
Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων ἐπικαλύμματά ἐστι δύο, ὧν μεταξύ ἐστιν οἷάπερ ὁ κάραβος ἔχει πρὸς τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν.
And over these there are two opercula, between which are such things as the spiny lobster has near its teeth.
Δέχεται μὲν οὖν τὸ ὕδωρ παρὰ τὸ στόμα, ἀπωθῶν τοῖς ἐπικαλύμμασιν, ἀφίησι δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ἄνω πόρους τοῦ στόματος, ἐπιλαμβάνων τοῖς ἐπικαλύμμασιν, ᾗ εἰσῆλθεν· οὗτοι δ’ εἰσὶν εὐθὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς· καὶ ὅταν δέξηται τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐπιλαμβάνει τὸ στόμα τοῖς ἐπικαλύμμασιν ἀμφοτέροις, ἔπειθ’ οὕτως ἀποπυτίζει τὴν θάλατταν.
Now it takes in water by the mouth, pushing it away with the opercula, and discharges it through the upper passages of the mouth, blocking with the opercula the way it entered; and these are immediately under the eyes; and when it has taken in water, it shuts the mouth with both opercula, and then in this way spits out the seawater.
Ἐχόμενος δὲ τῶν ὀδόντων ὁ στόμαχος βραχὺς πάμπαν, ὥστε δοκεῖν εὐθὺς εἶναι μετὰ τὸ στόμα τὴν κοιλίαν.
And the esophagus adjoining the teeth is altogether short, so that the stomach seems to be immediately after the mouth.
Καὶ κοιλία τούτου ἐχομένη δικρόα, ἧς ἐκ μέσης μὲν τὸ ἔντερόν ἐστιν ἁπλοῦν καὶ λεπτόν· τελευτᾷ δὲ τὸ ἔντερον ὑπὸ τὸ ἐπικάλυμμα τὸ ἔξω, ὥσπερ εἴρηται καὶ πρότερον.
And a two-forked stomach adjoins this, from the middle of which the intestine is simple and thin; and the intestine ends under the outer operculum, just as has been said before.
Ἔχει δὲ τὸ μεταξὺ τῶν ἐπικαλυμμάτων, οἷάπερ ὁ κάραβος, πρὸς τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν.
And it has in the space between the opercula such things as the spiny lobster has near its teeth.
Ἐν δὲ τῷ κύτει ἔσω χυμός ἐστιν ὠχρός, καὶ μίκρ’ ἄττα προμήκη λευκά, καὶ ἄλλα πυρρὰ διαπεπασμένα.
And inside the shell there is a pale yellow fluid, and some small, oblong, white objects, and other reddish ones scattered about.
Διαφέρει δ’ ὁ ἄρρην τῆς θηλείας τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ πλάτει καὶ τῷ ἐπικαλύμματι· μεῖζον γὰρ τοῦτο ἔχει ἡ θήλεια, καὶ πλέον ἀφεστηκὸς καὶ συνηρεφέστερον, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θηλειῶν καράβων.
And the male differs from the female in size, in breadth, and in the operculum; for the female has this larger, more spreading, and more closely covering, just as in the case of female spiny lobsters.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῶν μαλακοστράκων μόρια τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον.
Such, then, is the character of the parts of the soft-shelled creatures.

Notes

  1. §4.3τῶν δ’ ἀναίμων οὐδέν — This phrase is most naturally interpreted in connection with the immediately preceding clause 'for they all have viscera inside (πάντα γὰρ σπλάγχνα ἔχει τὰ ἔσωθεν)', meaning 'but none of the bloodless animals has viscera (οὐδὲν ἔχει σπλάγχνα)'. Alternatively, it could be contrasted with the earlier main clause 'the internal parts of blooded animals have names', meaning 'none of the internal parts of bloodless animals has a name (οὐδὲν ὄνομα ἔχει)'. The former interpretation (that bloodless animals lack viscera) is adopted here due to the immediate context.
  2. §4.3ἔτι δὲ κεφαλή, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο μόριον — In this passage, the predicate of the main clause 'the trunk of the body is one and undivided (ἕν ἐστιν ἀδιόριστον)' also applies to 'the head (κεφαλή)' and 'any other part (εἴ τι ἄλλο μόριον)'. It represents an elliptical construction meaning 'furthermore, the head and whatever other part there is are [undivided from the trunk and form] one whole'.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, History of Animals §4.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg014.humanitext-grc1:4.3

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