Pond creatures (f79v)

[MarcoP]

MarcoP:

That line of dots is strongly suggestive of a salamander or newt, “stellio” (“starred”) in Latin.

Sorry for the nitpicking, but did "stellio" ever mean a salamander or newt? You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. says that it was used to mean a gecko or agama, with some confusion between the animals. Of course they might have been confused with salamanders as well, which were also considered a kind of lizard back then.
As for the line of dots on the back, this is also seen in the VMS scorpio, although it is difficult to see under the green paint (see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. about this). They don't seem to be the same animal, though.

Thank you Oocephalus, two excellent points!

The You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. I linked before translates "stellio" as "newt".

Genera\ lacertorum plura, ut\ botrax, salamandra,\ saura, stellio
There are many kinds of lizards, such as the botrax, the salamander, the saura and the newt. 

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. has a long chapter devoted to Stellio, packed with references to ancient authors. I have not found the time to read it yet.

I find the presence of the line of dots on Scorpio's back very interesting: thank you again!

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. you linked (second page, first column) says:
Philologists discuss at length the possible identity of the animals and arrive at different conclusions. Whereas some argue that scorpions are the appropriate candidates others regard lizards and generally geckos as the correct animals.

This certainly is a difficult and interesting subject!