§6.11οἱ δὲ ἄρρενες περὶ τὸν χρόνον τῆς ὀχείας τοὺς πόρους ἔχουσι θοροῦ πλήρεις οὕτως ὥστε θλιβομένων ἔξω ῥεῖν τὸ σπέρμα λευκόν.
And the males, about the time of copulation, have their ducts full of milt, so that, when they are squeezed, the white semen flows outwards.
Εἰσὶ δ’ οἱ πόροι δίκροοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑποζώματος καὶ τῆς μεγάλης φλεβὸς ἔχοντες τὴν ἀρχήν.
And the ducts are bifurcated, having their origin from the diaphragm and the great vein.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἤδη διάδηλοι πρὸς τὴν τῶν θηλειῶν ὑστέραν εἰσὶν οἱ πόροι τῶν ἀρρένων, ὅταν δὲ μὴ αὐτὴ ἡ ὥρα, ἧττον διάδηλοι τῷ μὴ συνήθει· πάμπαν γὰρ ἐν ἐνίοις καὶ ἐνίοτε ἄδηλοι γίνονται, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη περὶ τῶν ὄρχεων ἐν τοῖς ὄρνισιν.
Now, about this time, the ducts of the males are already quite distinct in comparison with the uterus of the females; but when it is not this very season, they are less distinct to one who is not familiar with them; for in some specimens and at certain times they become completely invisible, just as was said of the testes in birds.
Ἔχουσι δὲ διαφορὰς καὶ ἄλλας μὲν πρὸς ἄλληλα οἵ τε θορικοὶ πόροι καὶ οἱ ὑστερικοί, καὶ ὅτι οἱ μὲν προσπεφύκασι τῇ ὀσφύϊ, οἱ δὲ τῶν θηλειῶν πόροι εὐκίνητοί εἰσι καὶ λεπτῷ ὑμένι προσειλημμένοι.
And the seminal ducts and the uterine ducts have also other differences from one another, and notably that the former are attached to the loins, whereas the ducts of the females are easily movable and attached by a thin membrane.
Θεωρείσθωσαν δὲ καὶ οἱ τῶν ἀρρένων πόροι, ὡς ἔχουσιν, ἐκ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀνατομαῖς διαγεγραμμένων.
Let the ducts of the males, how they are situated, be observed from what is drawn in the diagrams of dissections.
Ἐπικυΐσκεται δὲ τὰ σελάχη, καὶ κύει τοὺς πλείστους μῆνας ἕξ.
The cartilaginous fish also undergo superfetation, and they are pregnant for six months in most cases.
Πλειστάκις δ’ ἀποτίκτει ὁ καλούμενος τῶν γαλεῶν ἀστερίας· ἀποτίκτει γὰρ δὶς τοῦ μηνός.
And the shark called "spotted shark" (asterias) brings forth young most frequently; for it brings forth twice a month.
Ἄρχονται δ’ ὀχεύεσθαι μηνὸς Μαιμακτηριῶνος.
And they begin to copulate in the month of Maimacterion.
Οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι γαλεοὶ δὶς τίκτουσι, πλὴν τοῦ σκυλίου· οὗτος δ’ ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ.
The other sharks bring forth twice, except the dogfish; this latter brings forth once a year.
Τίκτουσι δὲ τὰ μὲν τοῦ ἔαρος αὐτῶν, ῥίνη δὲ καὶ τοῦ μετοπώρου πρὸς δύσιν Πλειάδος χειμερινὴν τὸ ὕστερον, τὸ δὲ πρῶτον τοῦ ἔαρος· εὐθηνεῖ δ’ αὐτῆς μάλιστα μὲν ὁ γόνος ὁ ὕστερος· αἱ δὲ νάρκαι περὶ τὸ φθινόπωρον.
And some of them bring forth in the spring, but the angel-fish also in the autumn, at the winter setting of the Pleiades, for its second brood, and the first in the spring; and its later brood thrives the most; and the electric rays bring forth about autumn.
Ἐκτίκτει δὲ τὰ σελάχη πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἐκ τοῦ πελάγους καὶ τῶν βαθέων ἐπανιόντα διά τε τὴν ἀλέαν καὶ διὰ τὸ φοβεῖσθαι περὶ τῶν τέκνων.
And the cartilaginous fish bring forth near the land, returning from the open sea and the deep waters, both because of the warmth and because they fear for their offspring.
Τῶν μὲν οὖν ἄλλων ἰχθύων παρὰ τὰς συγγενείας οὐθὲν ὦπται συνδυαζόμενον, ῥίνη δὲ δοκεῖ μόνη τοῦτο ποιεῖν καὶ βάτος· ἔστι γάρ τις ἰχθὺς ὃς καλεῖται ῥινόβατος· ἔχει γὰρ τὴν μὲν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν βάτου, τὰ δ’ ὄπισθεν ῥίνης, ὡς γινόμενος ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τούτων.
Now, of the other fish, none has been seen copulating outside of its own kindred, but the angel-fish and the skate alone seem to do this; for there is a certain fish called "rhinobatos", which has its head and front parts like those of a skate, but its hind parts like those of an angel-fish, as if it were generated from both of these.
Οἱ μὲν οὖν γαλεοὶ καὶ οἱ γαλεοειδεῖς, οἷον ἀλώπηξ καὶ κύων, καὶ οἱ πλατεῖς ἰχθύες, νάρκη καὶ βάτος καὶ λειόβατος καὶ τρυγών, τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον ζῳοτοκοῦσιν ᾠοτοκήσαντες,
So then the sharks and the shark-like fishes, such as the thresher shark and the dogfish, and the flat fishes, such as the electric ray, the skate, the smooth skate, and the sting-ray, bring forth their young alive after having first produced eggs in the manner described.