thumb|280px|The fish (Bahamut) carries on its back the giant bull (Kuyuta), and on the green hyacinth slab stands an earth-bearing angel. Bahamoot is [[Edward William Lane|Edward Lane's transcribed spelling.<!--Lane, p. 107--> Balhūt is the alternate spelling given in Yaqut al-Hamawi's (d. 1229) geographic work and copies of Ibn al-Wardi's (d. 1457) work. A reshaping of its nature must have occurred in Arab storytelling, some time in the pre-Islamic period. One proposed scenario is that a pair of beasts from the Bible were confused with each other:
Lane's primary Islamic source for his summary is unclear, as Lane merely refers to it ly as "the work of one of the writers above quoted".
Arabic sources
There are a number of Islamic cosmographical treatises, of more or less similar content.
There can occur certain discrepancies in Western translations, even when there are no textual differences in the Arabic. The creature, named Bahamut or Balhut in these sources, can be described as a fish or whale according to translation, since the original Arabic word hūt (حوت) can mean either. and can be rendered as "ruby", or variously otherwise.
Cosmography
Qazwini group
Al-Damiri (d. 1405) on authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih was one of Lane's sources, possibly the source of his main summary. His description of "Bahmût" (French translation) matches Lane's summary down to certain key details. However, there seems to be discrepancies in using "a heap of sand" (instead of "mustard") in the size analogy.
Al-Qazwini (d. 1283)'s cosmography The Wonders of Creation on the contrary agrees with Lane on these points. However, it disagrees somewhat with Lane's description regarding what lies below the fish: water, air, then a region of darkness, and with respect to the bull's appendages. It should be cautioned that Qazwini's cosmography is known to exist in a variety of different manuscripts.
Both cosmographies provide the story as words spoken by Wahb ibn Munabbih, so the descriptions should be similar at the core. In fact, Al-Damiri's version is considered to be mere redactions of Qazwini printed onto its margins.
Yakut group
Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1457) (Kharīdat al-ʿAjā'ib, "The Pearl of Wonders") is another source used by Lane, to give variant readings. Its chapter that includes the cosmography has been deemed a copy of Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229)'s Mu'jam al-Buldan, with similar wording, with some rearrangements, and very slight amounts of discrepant information.
"Balhūt" is the name of the great fish given in both Ibn al-Wardi and Yaqut.
Yakut and al-Wardi both say there is a layer of sandhill between the bull and the fish. They also describe what lies under the fish somewhat differently.
These texts connect the cosmic fish and bull with phenomena of nature, namely the waxing and ebbing of tides, maintenance of the sea-level, and earthquakes. The account which only connects concerns the bull states that its breathing causes the waxing and ebbing of the tides.