62 Supplement to the History

# ON SEA BOARS

The Sea Boar is described in the *History of Fishes*, according to the account of Rondelet, in the following manner. The Sea Boar is a scaly fish, although it appears to be covered with a rough and almost shaggy skin. Its body is nearly round and reddish in color, with large eyes and a long, blunt snout resembling that of a pig, though it lacks teeth. Just behind the head, along the length of its back, it has extremely sharp, hard, long, and straight spines; these are unequal in size and resemble the bristles of a wild boar.

However, this Sea Boar is of little consequence compared to the one once sighted in the open Ocean. That creature had the head of a boar, sharp and prominent canine teeth, and scales arranged by nature in a marvelous pattern, as shown in the accompanying illustration. This is how it was depicted by Ambroise Paré, though we recognize that this particular boar should be classified among amphibious animals. Gessner referred to this beast—which appeared without a name in Olaus Magnus’s map—as a "cetacean boar" to distinguish it from the fish of the same name.

We believe it is quite reasonable to add "Sea Pigs" to this group of aquatic boars, two types of which are said to inhabit the Indian Sea. One type has a sharp snout, much like a goose’s beak, while the other has a snout so blunt that it appears perfectly spherical when it rises from the water. Some of these Sea Pigs reach about six feet in length and have wide, forked tails. When the sea begins to grow restless, they can be seen emerging above the waves; tossed about by the storm, they take on a green hue—indeed, they seem to reflect the very color of the sea. Furthermore, they grunt loudly just like land pigs. For this reason, when sailors spot these beasts wandering and breathing on the surface, they take it as a certain omen of an approaching storm.

We might also add a third type observed in the region of Mexico, which is about the size of a calf. The locals call this fish *Andura*, but the Spaniards who conquered that region call it *Hoga*. Its head and ears are almost exactly like those of a pig. Five whiskers hang from its jaws like bearded appendages, each about half a foot long. Its flesh is quite pleasant to eat. This animal gives birth to live young, much like a whale. While swimming, it appears green, yellow, red, and entirely multicolored, shifting like a chameleon. It stays near the coast and feeds on the leaves of a tree also called *Hoga*, from which it derives its name. It is a toothed animal like a pig and will kill any other fish it meets, even those larger than itself; consequently, fishermen make every effort to kill this beast first.