History of Animals
From Freepedia
History of Animals (or "Historia Animalium", or "On the History of Animals") is a zoological text by Aristotle.
Its little philosophical relevance is balanced by some biographical hints it may yield on its author. The work consists of lenghthy descriptions (Greek: historiai) of countless species of fish, shellfish, and other, animals and their anatomies. In the frame of the controversial search for absolute datings of Aristotle's works, some scholars have noticed that most of the marine species described in the book seem to match ones which are presently found in the Ionian Sea along the Turkish coastline.
Hence, it has been claimed that the book was (rather carelessly) sketched during Aristotle's stay in Lesbos, around 343 B.C., for further investigation. Fishermen would bring him interesting exemplars and he would take notes of their features, without any scientific recollection, which would explain the philosophical platitude and untidy nature of the book.
