crocodile, all of which go into hiding for four months in the
depth of winter, and during that time eat nothing. Serpents in general
burrow under ground for this purpose; the viper conceals itself
under a stone.
A great number of fishes also take this sleep, and notably,
the hippurus and coracinus in winter time; for, whereas fish in
general may be caught at all periods of the year more or less, there
is this singularity observed in these fishes, that they are caught
within a certain fixed period of the year, and never by any chance out
of it. The muraena also hides, and the orphus or sea-perch, and the
conger. Rock-fish pair off, male and female, for hiding (just as for
breeding); as is observed in the case of the species of wrasse
called the thrush and the owzel, and in the perch.
The tunny also takes a sleep in winter in deep waters, and
gets exceedingly fat after the sleep. The fishing season for the tunny
begins at the rising of the Pleiads and lasts, at the longest, down to
the setting of Arcturus; during the rest of the year they are hid
and enjoying immunity. About the time of hibernation a few tunnies
or other hibernating fishes are caught while swimming about, in
particularly warm localities and in exceptionally fine weather, or
on nights of full moon; for the fishes are induced (by the warmth or
the light) to emerge for a while from their lair in quest of food.
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