And, indeed, we must bear this in mind, that just as with plants and
quadrupeds diversity of locality has much to do not only with
general physical health but also with the comparative frequency of
sexual intercourse and generation, so also with regard to fishes
locality of itself has much to do not only in regard to the size and
vigour of the creature, but also in regard to its parturition and
its copulations, causing the same species to breed oftener in one
place and seldomer in another.
12
The molluscs also breed in spring. Of the marine molluscs one of
the first to breed is the sepia. It spawns at all times of the day and
its period of gestation is fifteen days. After the female has laid her
eggs, the male comes and discharges the milt over the eggs, and the
eggs thereupon harden. And the two sexes of this animal go about in
pairs, side by side; and the male is more mottled and more black on
the back than the female.
The octopus pairs in winter and breeds in spring, lying hidden
for about two months. Its spawn is shaped like a vine-tendril, and
resembles the fruit of the white poplar; the creature is
extraordinarily prolific, for the number of individuals that come from
the spawn is something incalculable.
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