Naravoslovje 3. Zoologija in primerjalna anatomija

The third book of Pliny's Natural History includes translations of books 9–11 and commentary on them. In book 9, the author discusses aquatic animals (whales, dolphins, turtles, various species of fish, etc.), while book 10 deals with birds (cranes, various birds of prey, peacocks, woodpeckers, poultry, various songbirds and migratory birds, mythological birds, bird eggs, eggs of other animals, some peculiarities of the animal world, etc.). The eleventh book is unique in that it combines two parts; in the first, shorter part, he presents insects (devoting most of the space to bees), while in the second part, he provides a more comprehensive comparative anatomy of living beings in terms of individual organs and their functions, from humans to insects. Pliny often describes subspecies of animal species, outlines their special features, presents their importance to humans and their presence in everyday life, the religious significance of certain animal species, mythological species, special cases of the relationship between humans and animals, and other interesting facts. He supplements his descriptions with shorter and longer digressions in which he presents particularly interesting topics, such as the shells from which scarlet dye was obtained. He also does not forget to moralise and criticise Roman society of the time.