Myrmecoleon

The Myrmecoleon or Ant-lion is a fantastical animal from classical times, possibly derived from an error in the Septuagint version of the book of Job, reappearing in the Greek Christian Physiologus of the 3rd or 4th century A.D. It is found in Medieval bestiaries such as the Hortus Sanitatis of Jacob Meydenbach. It is also referenced in some sources as a Formicaleon (Antlion), Formicaleun or Mirmicioleon. Myrmecoleon comes from the Greek words for ant (μύρμηξ [myrmeks]) and lion (λέων [leon]). Note that the Aberdeen Bestiary describes "...a stone in the sea which is called in Latin mermecoleon and in Greek concasabea, because it is both hollow and round. It is, moreover, divided into two parts, so that if it wants to, it can close up. The stone lies at the bottom of the sea and comes to life early in the morning. When it rises from its resting-place to the surface of the sea, it opens its mouth and takes in some heavenly dew, and the rays of the sun shine around it; thus there grows within the stone a most precious, shining pearl indeed, conceived from the heavenly dew and given lustre by the rays of the sun."