Note 1652 — BOOK VIII. THE NATURE OF THE TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS.
John Bostock translation
It is doubtful whether any one ever witnessed a serpent sucking a cow, but it seems to have been generally believed, and it is therefore probable, that the name of the animal was derived from this circumstance.—B. It is still believed of the common snake in some parts of this country. The reading “primo” has been preferred to “trimo,” that adopted by Sillig.