Aristotle [ca. 350 BCE] (De animalibus, Book 6, chapter 16.3-4): The atherina produces its young first of all, near the land. ... The atherina deposits her ova by rubbing her abdomen against the sand. - [Cresswell translation, 1887]

Thomas of Cantimpré [circa 1200-1272 CE] (Liber de natura rerum, Fish 7.9): Abarenon is a fertile fish, as Aristotle says, with many eggs. This does not have the nature of other fishes, to give birth to eggs conceived by movement in contact with the sea. Therefore, when this fish is about to give birth, by a certain natural instinct, it rubs its belly against the sand, which is rough to the touch and salty to the taste, and when the eggs are thus conceived, it gives birth and brings forth the offspring after the due time. - [Badke translation/paraphrase]