Of Ulysses Aldrovandi

E

FORM AND DESCRIPTION:

What the sensory organs of serpents are like.

F

How egg-laying animals are generated.

G

Decorative initial O with floral scrollwork.OLMOST all the limbs of the body in serpents are very similar to those of lizards; indeed, if the feet were removed, a lizard would very closely mimic a serpent. But if we contemplate the head at first glance, it is not of the same shape or quality in all of them: for some have a smooth head, others heavy, some wide, others narrow, some white, others black, some yellow, and others marked with various colors. Finally, some turn their heads so quickly in both directions that they seem to the observer to be two-headed, or like the Amphisbaena original: "amphisphæli"; a mythical serpent with a head at both ends. Furthermore, serpents have all the sensory organs similar to other animals—namely, nostrils for smelling, eyes for seeing, and ears for hearing—but these do not protrude, just as they do not in birds; rather, only holes are visible. For this reason, Pliny Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist wrote that among feathered animals, only the Great Horned Owl original: "Buboni" and the Long-eared Owl original: "Oto" have feathers that serve as ears, while for the rest there are cavities for hearing, which we also observe in serpents. They also have nasal passages in front of the mouth, but they are not so distinct that they can be called nostrils; it is enough that they perform the function of breathing. They do not move the upper eyelid, just like birds, but blink with the lower one only; and their eyes are harder than those of birds. Moreover, although among serpents the Blind-snake original: "cæcula Serpens"; likely refers to the slow-worm or a similar legless lizard often confused with snakes is listed as being without sight, this should not cause wonder among so many species of snakes, since among so many four-legged animals the mole also lacks eyes—though in that animal, according to the mind of the Philosopher Aristotle, if the skin is removed, the place for the eyes appears. Furthermore, "serrated teeth" are assigned to these animals; indeed, Pliny relates that some teeth are called serrated which meet like the teeth of a comb so they are not worn down by clashing, as is observed in serpents, fish, and dogs. Likewise, the serpent lacks a neck. From this, Porta Giambattista della Porta, a 16th-century Italian scholar not without reason deduced that snakes possess a signature SignatureThe "Doctrine of Signatures" was the belief that an animal or plant's physical characteristics indicated its medicinal use; here, the snake's lack of a neck suggested it could cure neck pains. and a prerogative against ailments of the neck. However, we may observe that the neck is not the same in all: it is wide in the Chersydrus A type of amphibious snake and narrow in the Seps A small, venomous snake mentioned in classical literature. Next, serpents are covered with a "bark" as if it were skin, since it was the opinion of Aristotle that egg-laying animals without feathers are protected by a bark-like skin, while live-bearing animals are adorned with hair. Thus, animals producing an egg—also according to the mind of Pliny—wear either feathers, scales, a shell, a bark-like skin, or plain skin. The passage for excrement, or the anus original: "podex", is seen near the end of the tail in certain serpents, such as the female Viper and the Haemorrhois A snake whose venom was thought to cause uncontrollable bleeding; in males, however, it is observed in a higher position, closer to the belly. Finally, the tail of all serpents does not happen to have the same form; for the female viper bears a tail rough with flesh and somewhat hard scales. The Dipsas A snake whose bite was said to cause unquenchable thirst has a slender and black tail, with the rest of its body being whitish. Indeed, the tail is shorter in some serpents, longer in others, and in others shaggy with scales, as we shall teach in the specific description of each serpent.

---

ANATOMY.

H

Book 2 on the Variety of Things, chapter 29.

Book 6 on the Differences of Animals.

What the tongue of serpents is like.

Decorative initial A with a landscape background featuring buildings and mountains.AFTER the description of the external parts, we shall proceed step by step to explore the inward parts of snakes. First, the head of the serpent is covered by a single bone in the shape of a blunt cone, as Cardano Girolamo Cardano, an Italian polymath asserts. Indeed, nature did not carve holes for the eyes into this bone, which was done so that they would not be easily injured while they crawl on the ground. They have serrated and sharp teeth, just as was written a little earlier in the description of this animal; but, as Edward Wotton original: "Edoardus Vuot"; an English physician and pioneer of zoology notes, there are two very long teeth in the upper right and left parts, hollowed out with a thin tube like the stinger of scorpions, through which they later discharge venom when the opportunity arises. The tongue of serpents is thin, long, and finished with a black color; therefore, it is stretched out further. At the tip, however, it is bifid split in two, and according to some, hairy—or rather thin like a hair, as was explained in the chapter on lizards. Pliny called the tongue of serpents "three-forked" original: "trifurcam", because they vibrate it with such speed that they seem to thrust out a triple tongue. Under the tongue in some species, a small skin is found which covers the teeth like a sheath, in which the venom is hidden, which afterwards—