Pierre Belon, 'De aquatilibus, Libri duo' (1553)

Commentary
Pierre Belon, 'De aquatilibus, Libri duo' (1553)
Collection: 
Fellows' Library, Winchester College

Full Title: Pierre Belon, De aquatilibus, Libri duo (Paris, 1553) 

De aquatilibus is a description and categorisation of 185 aquatic animals and fish published by the French naturalist, Pierre Belon (151764). As the woodcut illustration displayed here shows, Belon fell victim to an urban legend popular at the time relating to the identity and appearance of the monkfish. Browne owned several of Belon’s works, and drew on them extensively in his Notes and Letters on the Natural History of Norfolk.