Fiber

vert a fiber statant arg

A fictitious amphibian with the body and hind feet of a hound, the forefeet of a goose and the tail of a fish. According to Bossewell, 'He is also named Castor, à castrando. For he geldeth himself, where he perceiveth that he is pursued of the hunter, and biting of his stones, which are marvellously good in medicines, layeth them in the sight of the hunter, knowing by nature, that he is hunted for the same, and so he escapeth death.'

The illustration is an example of tricking by Bossewell, writing in 1572, to indicate the tinctures, before the introduction of the abbreviations with which we are familiar: V for vert and A for argent. See Tricking