Fish Otoliths and Folklore: A Survey
2007; Routledge; Volume: 118; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00155870601095671
ISSN1469-8315
Autores Tópico(s)Foreign Body Medical Cases
ResumoAbstract The folklore associated with fish otoliths is traced from classical times to the present day for the first time. Otolithomancy involved divination of maritime weather conditions by consulting the properties and morphology of the "stones." In folk medicine, they were employed in the treatment of renal problems, malarial fever, nose bleeds, jaundice, pain, and swellings in the groin. They were also believed to act as aphrodisiacs. Modern applications include the treatment of urinary tract infections in Turkey, fever in Spain, and asthma and back pain in Brazil. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the Wellcome Library for access to the many volumes consulted in the preparation of this paper, and for permission to reproduce the figures from Gesner (1565 Gesner, Conrad. 1565–66. De Rerum Fossilium Lapidum et Gemmarum maximè, figures & similitudinibus Liber: non solùm Medicis, sed omnibus rerum Naturae ac Philologiae studiosis, utilis & iuncundus futurus, Tiguri: Jacobus Gesnerus. [Google Scholar]–66) and de Cuba (1483). Adrienne Mayor made a number of helpful suggestions at the review stage. Cristina Lerner-Noy and Martha Richter kindly helped to clarify the author's inferences from texts written in Portuguese. Tordur Tòmasson of Skògar discussed aspects of Icelandic folklore with the author. Notes [1] The identities of some of the fishes mentioned in classical texts are: The "Lupus" (Wolfperches in German) is probably Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus 1758 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Nat ed. 10 v.1 [Google Scholar])—the European Sea Bass. A common food fish, this marine perciform actinopterygian (Family Moronidae) grows to over one metre in length and weighs up to twelve kilograms (Fiedler 1991 Fiedler, K. 1991. "Fische". In Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. Band II: Wirbeltiere, Edited by: Starck, D. 2 Teil. Jena: Gustav Fischer Verlag. [Google Scholar]). "Chromis" is most likely the marine sciaenid perciform, Sciaena umbra (Linnaeus 1758 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Nat ed. 10 v.1 [Google Scholar]), commonly known as the Brown Meagre. This might well also be the identity of "Sciaena." This fish reaches lengths of seventy centimetres. "Bacchus" is generally identified as one of the aselli, a Grey Mullet, perhaps Mugil mabrosus or Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus 1758 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Nat ed. 10 v.1 [Google Scholar]) (Perciformes, Family Mugilidae), the Flathead Mullet (up to 120 cm long and weighing up to twelve kilograms). Asellus itself is generally taken to include the European Hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus 1758 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Nat ed. 10 v.1 [Google Scholar]) (Order Gadiformes, Family Merlucciidae), plus possibly Phycis phycis (Linnaeus 1766 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1766. Systema naturae sive regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, Systema Nat. ed. 12 [Google Scholar]) (Mediterranean Hake or Forkbeard) and P. blennioides (Brünnich 1768 Brünnich, Morten Thrane, Ichthyologia Massiliensis, sistens piscium descriptiones eorumque apud incolas nomina. Accedunt Spolia Maris Adriatici. Hafniae et Lipsiae, 1768. [Google Scholar]), the Fork-beard Hake or Greater Forkbeard. Claudius Aelianus (On the Characteristics of Animals IX. 7; see Aelian 1959 Aelian, Claudius. 1959. On the characteristics of Animals, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Books VI–XI. vol. 2. Loeb Classical Library [Google Scholar]) (c. 175–235) suggested that "Cinaedius" might be the Bass, and thus synonymous with Lupus. "Synodus," a name indicating direct opposition of teeth in the upper and lower dentitions during occlusion, probably refers to a sea bream, possibly Sparus aurata (Linnaeus 1758 Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Nat ed. 10 v.1 [Google Scholar]), the Gilthead Sea Bream (Perciformes, Family Sparidae), or Pagellus bogaraveo (Brünnich 1768 Brünnich, Morten Thrane, Ichthyologia Massiliensis, sistens piscium descriptiones eorumque apud incolas nomina. Accedunt Spolia Maris Adriatici. Hafniae et Lipsiae, 1768. [Google Scholar]), the Blackspot Sea Bream, both species reaching a length of around seventy centimetres and a weight of around twelve kilograms. Note, however, that the members of the Family Synodontidae are the Lizard fishes or Javelin fishes. [2] "Cinaedia invenitur in cerebro piscis eiusdem nominis, candida et oblonga. Praesagare his ferunt maris signa tranquillitatis vel tempestatis" (Lindsay 1911 Lindsay, Wallace Martin. 1911. Isidori Hispalensis Episcopi Etymologiarum Sive Originum. Libri XX, vol. 2, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Liber XVI Caput X, De Candidis 8).
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