258
FINDLAY E. RUSSELL
fiction is often a formidable one, and one not always lightened by the
passage of time.
Egyptian medical records, possibly dating from 1600 B.c., contain
some advice on the treatment of venom poisoning, and some descriptions of venomous animals. Perhaps one of the earliest references
to toxic marine organisms is found in Exodus 7 : 20-21 : " . . . and all
FIG. 1. The stingray, Dasyatispmtinaca (L.), and the greater weever, Trachinus draco L.
From Grevin (1571).
the waters that were in the river turned to blood. And the fish that
was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could
not drink of the water of the river . . . " (Moses, c. 1491 B.u.). This
description is thought to refer to a " bloom " of toxic dinoflagellates.
But the most exhaustive and credulous early writer of natural and
FINDLAY E. RUSSELL
fiction is often a formidable one, and one not always lightened by the
passage of time.
Egyptian medical records, possibly dating from 1600 B.c., contain
some advice on the treatment of venom poisoning, and some descriptions of venomous animals. Perhaps one of the earliest references
to toxic marine organisms is found in Exodus 7 : 20-21 : " . . . and all
FIG. 1. The stingray, Dasyatispmtinaca (L.), and the greater weever, Trachinus draco L.
From Grevin (1571).
the waters that were in the river turned to blood. And the fish that
was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could
not drink of the water of the river . . . " (Moses, c. 1491 B.u.). This
description is thought to refer to a " bloom " of toxic dinoflagellates.
But the most exhaustive and credulous early writer of natural and