Emblem books descended from medieval bestiaries that explained the importance of animals, proverbs, and fables. Ethiopian Pegasus is an animal from Medieval bestiaries. The creature passed into medieval bestiaries and heraldry, where it represents proud defence. This belief, also recorded by Pliny the Elder, persisted in medieval bestiaries. These bestiaries almost invariably depict hyenas feeding on human corpses. Medieval bestiaries usually depict its fur as reddish-brown or black. This belief was echoed by authors of bestiaries throughout the medieval period. A seps is a legendary snake from medieval bestiaries. The gold-digging ant is a mythical insect described in classical and medieval bestiaries. Medieval bestiaries are remarkably similar in sequence of the animals of which they treat. These missing folios are assumed from comparisons between the Ashmole and other related bestiaries. Medieval bestiaries named these birds the "Ercinee". A pard is a legendary animal that is listed in Medieval bestiaries. The self-sacrificial aspect of the pelican was reinforced by the widely read medieval bestiaries. The parandrus or tarandos was an animal from medieval bestiaries.