The "signa militaria" were the Roman military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful ("manipulus") of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was called a "maniple". The bundle of hay or fern was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, of which Pliny the Elder ("H.N." x.16) enumerates five: the eagle, the wolf, the ox with the man's head, the horse, and the boar. After the devastating Roman defeat at the Battle of Arausio against the Cimbri and Teutons the consul Gaius Marius undertook an extensive military reform in 104 BC in which the four quadrupeds were laid aside as standards, the eagle ("Aquila") alone being retained. It was made of silver, or bronze, with outstretched wings, but was probably of relatively small size, since a standard-bearer (signifer) under Julius Caesar is said in circumstances of danger to have wrenched the eagle from its staff and concealed it in the folds of his girdle.