Bestiaries

thumb|Monocerus|Monoceros and [[Bear. Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 1511, The Ashmole Bestiary, Folio 21r, England (Peterborough?), Early 13th century.]] right|thumb|upright|"The Leopard" from the 13th-century bestiary known as the "[[Rochester Bestiary"]] thumb|upright|The Peridexion tree|Peridexion Tree

Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and myth

thumb|250px|Panther, Bern Physiologus, 9th century The Physiologus () is a didactic Christian text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria. Its composition has been traditionally dated to the 2nd century AD by readers who saw parallels with writings of Clement of Alexandria, who is asserted to have known the text, though Alan Scott has made a case for a date at the end of the 3rd or in the 4th century. The Physiologus consists of descriptions of animals, birds, and fantastic creatures, sometimes stones and plants, provided with moral content. Each animal is described, a

work by Jorge Luis Borges

12th-century English manuscript

Japanese book published in 1776

important work of cosmography by Zakariya al-Qazwini

manuscript

Book of yōkai

bestiary

English illuminated manuscript with descriptions and miniatures of animals

historical misconception that certain geese species were born from barnacles or trees, not eggs