In all these animals there is a head with its component3 parts; its presence being determined4 by the same causes as obtain in the case of other sanguineous animals; and in all, with the single exception of the river crocodile, there is a tongue inside the mouth. In this one exception there would seem to be no actual tongue, but merely a space left vacant for it. The reason is that a crocodile is in a way a land-animal and a water-animal combined. In its character of land-animal it has a space for a tongue; but in its character of water-animal it is without the tongue itself. For in some fishes, as has already been mentioned, there is no appearance whatsoever5 of a tongue, unless the mouth be stretched open very widely indeed; while in others it is indistinctly separated from the rest of the mouth. The reason for this is that a tongue would be of but little service to such animals, seeing that they are unable to chew their food or to taste it before swallowing, the pleasurable sensations they derive6 from it being limited to the act of deglutition. For it is in their passage down the gullet that solid edibles7 cause enjoyment8, while it is by the tongue that the savour of fluids is perceived. Thus it is during deglutition that the oiliness, the heat, and other such qualities of food are recognized; and, in fact, the satisfaction from most solid edibles and dainties is derived9 almost entirely10 from the dilatation of the oesophagus during deglutition. This sensation, then, belongs even to animals that have no tongue, but while other animals have in addition the sensations of taste, tongueless animals have, we may say, no other satisfaction than it. What has now been said explains why intemperance11 as regards drinks and savoury fluids does not go hand in hand with intemperance as regards eating and solid relishes12.
In some oviparous quadrupeds, namely in lizards13, the tongue is bifid, as also it is in serpents, and its terminal divisions are of hair-like fineness, as has already been described. (Seals also have a forked tongue.) This it is which accounts for all these animals being so fond of dainty food. The teeth in the four-footed Ovipara are of the sharp interfitting kind, like the teeth of fishes. The organs of all the senses are present and resemble those of other animals. Thus there are nostrils14 for smell, eves for vision, and ears for hearing. The latter organs, however, do not project from the sides of the head, but consist simply of the duct, as also is the case in birds. This is due in both cases to the hardness of the integument15; birds having their bodies covered with feathers, and these oviparous quadrupeds with horny plates. These plates are equivalent to scales, but of a harder character. This is manifest in tortoises and river crocodiles, and also in the large serpents. For here the plates become stronger than the bones, being seemingly of the same substance as these.
These animals have no upper eyelid16, but close the eye with the lower lid In this they resemble birds, and the reason is the same as was assigned in their case. Among birds there are some that can not only thus close the eye, but can also blink by means of a membrane17 which comes from its corner. But none of the oviparous quadrupeds blink; for their eyes are harder than those of birds. The reason for this is that keen vision and far-sightedness are of very considerable service to birds, flying as they do in the air, whereas they would be of comparatively small use to the oviparous quadrupeds, seeing that they are all of troglodytic18 habits.
Of the two separate portions which constitute the head, namely the upper part and the lower jaw19, the latter in man and in the viviparous quadrupeds moves not only upwards20 and downwards21, but also from side to side; while in fishes, and birds and oviparous quadrupeds, the only movement is up and down. The reason is that this latter movement is the one required in biting and dividing food, while the lateral22 movement serve to reduce substances to a pulp23. To such animals, therefore, as have grinder-teeth this lateral motion is of service; but to those animals that have no grinders it would be quite useless, and they are therefore invariably without it. For nature never makes anything that is superfluous24. While in all other animals it is the lower jaw that is movable, in the river crocodile it is exceptionally the upper. This is because the feet in this creature are so excessively small as to be useless for seizing and holding prey25; on which account nature has given it a mouth that can serve for these purposes in their stead. For that direction of motion which will give the greater force to a blow will be the more serviceable one in holding or in seizing prey; and a blow from above is always more forcible than one from below. Seeing, then, that both the prehension and the mastication26 of food are offices of the mouth, and that the former of these two is the more essential in an animal that has neither hands nor suitably formed feet, these crocodiles will derive greater benefit from a motion of the upper jaw downwards than from a motion of the lower jaw upwards. The same considerations explain why crabs27 also move the upper division of each claw and not the lower. For their claws are substitutes for hands, and so require to be suitable for the prehension of food, and not for its comminution; for such comminution and biting is the office of teeth. In crabs, then, and in such other animals as are able to seize their food in a leisurely28 manner, inasmuch as their mouth is not called on to perform its office while they are still in the water, the two functions are assigned to different parts, prehension to the hands or feet, biting and comminution of food to the mouth. But in crocodiles the mouth has been so framed by nature as to serve both purposes, the jaws29 being made to move in the manner just described.
Another part present in these animals is a neck, this being the necessary consequence of their having a lung. For the windpipe by which the air is admitted to the lung is of some length. If, however, the definition of a neck be correct, which calls it the portion between the head and the shoulders, a serpent can scarcely be said with the same right as the rest of these animals to have a neck, but only to have something analogous30 to that part of the body. It is a peculiarity31 of serpents, as compared with other animals allied33 to them, that they are able to turn their head backwards34 without stirring the rest of the body. The reason of this is that a serpent, like an insect, has a body that admits of being curled up, its vertebrae being cartilaginous and easily bent35. The faculty36 in question belongs then to serpents simply as a necessary consequence of this character of their vertebrae; but at the same time it has a final cause, for it enables them to guard against attacks from behind. For their body, owing to its length and the absence of feet, is ill-suited for turning round and protecting the hinder parts; and merely to lift the head, without the power of turning it round, would be of no use whatsoever.
The animals with which we are dealing37 have, moreover, a part which corresponds to the breast; but neither here nor elsewhere in their body have they any mammae, as neither has any bird or fish. This is a consequence of their having no milk; for a mamma is a receptacle for milk and, as it were, a vessel38 to contain it. This absence of milk is not peculiar32 to these animals, but is common to all such as are not internally viviparous. For all such produce eggs, and the nutriment which in Vivipara has the character of milk is in them engendered39 in the egg. Of all this, however, a clearer account will be given in the treatise40 on Generation. As to the mode in which the legs bend, a general account, in which all animals are considered, has already been given in the dissertation on Progression. These animals also have a tail, larger in some of them, smaller in others, and the reason for this has been stated in general terms in an earlier passage.
Of all oviparous animals that live on land there is none so lean as the Chamaeleon. For there is none that has so little blood. The explanation of this is to be found in the psychical41 temperament42 of the creature. For it is of a timid nature, as the frequent changes it undergoes in its outward aspect testify. But fear is a refrigeration, and results from deficiency of natural heat and scantiness43 of blood. We have now done with such sanguineous animals as are quadrupedous and also such as are apodous, and have stated with sufficient completeness what external parts they possess, and for what reason they have them.
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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2
dissertation
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| n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文 | |
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component
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| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
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4
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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5
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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6
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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7
edibles
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| 可以吃的，可食用的( edible的名词复数 )； 食物 | |
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8
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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9
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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10
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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12
relishes
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| n.滋味( relish的名词复数 )；乐趣；（大量的）享受；快乐v.欣赏( relish的第三人称单数 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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13
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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14
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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15
integument
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| n.皮肤 | |
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eyelid
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| n.眼睑，眼皮 | |
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membrane
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| n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸 | |
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18
troglodytic
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| [昆] 全土栖的 | |
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19
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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20
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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21
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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lateral
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| adj.侧面的，旁边的 | |
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23
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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24
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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25
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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mastication
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| n.咀嚼 | |
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crabs
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| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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29
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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30
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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31
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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32
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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33
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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34
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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36
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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38
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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39
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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41
psychical
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| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
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42
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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43
scantiness
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| n.缺乏 | |
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