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Artistic interpretations of sea life, birds, and reptiles
Between the beginning of the Scientific Revolution (which began in the mid-17th century) and the early-19th Century movement towards dry and clinical accuracy in both anatomical and zoological illustrations, there was a period of extravagance, showiness, and artistic expression in the sciences.
Instead of being solely geared towards other scientists, the artists sought to entice the general public and show off their vast collections, in many of their works. This can be seen in the medical illustrations of Frederick Ruysch, as well as here, in the zoological illustrations of Albertus Seba.
[h/t to Biodiversity Library’s blog for tipping me off to the interesting connections between two collections already in my archive]
Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descripto, tome II & III. Albetus Seba, 1735.
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“Little did Ai know, his portrait would inspire thousands of awkward high school portraits, more than 250 years later.”
Image: Maned three-toed sloth - Bradypus torquatus.
From Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzamme vogelen, benevens eenige vreemde dieren en plantgewassen. George Edwards and M. Catesby, 1781. -
The Giant Amazonian Centipede - Scolopendra gigantea
Like the other members of Scolopendra, the giant Amazonian centipede is predatory and venomous. The first body segment has a pair of modified legs terminating in sharp claws, called forcipules (you know, like forceps), which it uses to pull its prey to its mouthparts, where it injects its venom.
Though typically non-fatal to humans (excepting those allergic to the venom toxins), giant centipede bites are incredibly painful and can cause symptoms for days on end. This venom is what allows them to hunt prey as large as small mammals and birds, without itself being eaten.
I have no idea what people are thinking when they buy one of these, but they’re apparently a big thing in exotic insect circles. They’re known to be jumpy, nervous, and very aggressive both in the wild and in captivity, and can often escape enclosures that aren’t well-sealed. I mean, come on. Even tarantulas can be docile and friendly. And mantises are fun to watch and not venomous! And there are so many other options! Why a giant centipede?
Vivarium Naturae; or, the Naturalist’s Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.
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Reproduction of the Edible Snail (Helix pomatia)
Like most gastropods, Helix pomatia is hermaphroditic - that is, they have the reproductive organs of both genders. They still engage in sexual reproduction, and the mating rituals of some land snails are truly bizarre.
When two sexually mature snails meet and determine that they’re going to mate, “love darts” will often be exchanged in a pre-mating ritual. However, these darts are not part of the insemination process; mating takes place after this exchange.
Darts don’t always hit their target (the other snail), and snails don’t always go into this “battle” with a dart prepared - snails who have never mated previously cannot create a dart, as the dart sac is not yet primed to lay down the chitin that the darts are comprised of. However, a snail who manages to hit their mate with a dart prior to mating have been shown to cause their mate to create a significantly higher number of eggs, and of those eggs, a higher percentage successfully hatch.
The Naturalists Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.
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Sea Monster from Natural History of Norway, by Bishop Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan, 1755.
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Anatomical Teaching Models
It’s believed that anatomical models have been used for teaching purposes (as opposed to ritualistic or religious purposes) since some point between 100 BCE - 300 CE, since dissection of the dead was a taboo and crime in the Late Greek and Roman empire, and paper or vellum for illustration was much more fragile than, say, carved wooden figures.
However, most of our evidence for anatomical models comes from the late Medieval era and later, when materials such as ivory and sealed papier-mâché were used for many anatomical carvings. Later, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, wax sculptures were common in medical schools, as much finer detail was attainable with such a pliable substance.
Today, most models used for teaching both lay persons and students are made from thermoplastics and texturing agents, and can range from highly detailed micro-premature babies, to fully-removable models of life-sized animals with every layer of tissue and organs, to huge versions of virions not normally visible except under an electron microscope. Given that the majority of students show greatly increased memory of a subject when able to physically manipulate a representation of it, the use of anatomical teaching models is here to stay.For more on anatomical models and tons more on the history of medicine, visit the Science Museum: Brought to Life!
Images:
Top: Anatomical structure of reclining woman in early pregnancy. Florence, Italy, ca. 1770.
Center left: Wax model of the human brain, with skin, skull, and meninges removed. Intended for medical students. Western Europe, ca. 1700-1900. Date uncertain.
Center right: Papier-mache model of acupuncture meridians. Japan, ca. 1601-1700.
Bottom left: Sculpture of male black infant, 22-23 weeks development. Created for exhibit on how micro-preemies are kept alive in the modern era. England, 1998.
Bottom right: Model of an adenovirus, magnified 3,000,000x, from electron microscope images. London, England, 1985. -
Ovis aries - Old Norway Sheep (anomalous, three-horned)
Unlike four-horned sheep (such as the Icelandic and Navajo Churro breeds), three-horned sheep legitimately have more than two horns - in four-horned sheep, the extra pair comes from an offshoot of the first horn buds. As a result, the extra horn locations can deform the skull shape of sheep who develop them, resulting in…”special” sheep.
Thankfully for farmers, most of the time, the extra horn and semi-deformed skull/face has no influence upon brain development, and the sheep are no more dull than average.
Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur. Johann Schreber, 1774.
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Rabbit Fish, or Rat Fish (Chimaera monstrosa)
Not to be confused with the Rabbitfish, a group of brightly-colored reef-dwellers.
The rat fish is one of the few fish of the order Chimaeriformes that you can see in person. Though a member of an order that dwells up to 2600 meters (8500 feet) below the surface of the ocean, they are capable of living at surface-level relatively easily, and as such are one of the only Chimaeridae (also known as ghost sharks or ghost fish) that are kept in public aquariums.
Chimaera are the closest living relatives to sharks, though they diverged over 400 million years ago. We have abundant fossil evidence of their evolution to their current forms, and they’re one of the most-studied orders of cartilaginous fish. These fish are the only vertebrates to retain vestigial evidence of a third set of limbs.
Illustrations de Ichtyologie ou histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Poissons. Marcus Elieser Bloch et al., 1795.
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Maria Sibylla Merian, colored copper engraving from “Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium”, Plate LX, (1705)
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“Faisan Huppe de Cayenne” - aka The Hoatzin
Though being very pheasant-like and looking quite meaty, and being far from an ugly bird, the hoatzin has managed to keep its unique and fascinating lineage alive, much more than the other birds in its territory. While the South American tropical birds are often poached, encroached upon, taken for pets, or used for plumage, these guys are only ever killed in complete desperation.
Why’s that? Well, despite looking big and meaty, most of their innards are not at all delicious. The hoatzins eat green leaves and vegetation, and their crop is a giant fermenting chamber! It’s much larger than most birds, and the stench of fermentation gives them an overall stank of manure and rot. They’re known as “stink birds” by locals (and many biologists who have to study them), and the smell doesn’t go away after they’re killed and gutted. The meat has a boar-taint kind of taste, and the stink even permeates the feathers.
Well, that’s one way to avoid extinction.
Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, planches enluminees. Comte de Buffon, 1765-1776.
