Scientific Illustration

biomedicalephemera:

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.

oneenchantedelephant:

engraved shell by dd21207 on Flickr.

caitibug757:

Sketches from Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

biomedicalephemera:

Diaphanous Hatchetfish - Sternoptyx diaphana

There are approximately 40 species of marine hatchetfish, all with similar shapes, but varying in size from less than a silver dollar to almost six inches long. The upward-facing (but non-telescopic) eyes and downward-slanting mouth are characteristic of the Sternoptychinae family.

Like many deep-sea creatures, the hatchetfish have bioluminescent photophores on their body - unlike most other deep-sea creatures, though, the hatchetfish directly utilizes their bioluminescence in how they disguise themselves.

The low levels of light that they give off on the bottom half of their body reflect against their silvery scales, giving predators below them the impression that the only thing above is the sky (even if the sky might be thousands of meters above). Complimentary to that camouflage, the upper half of the hatchetfish is more darkly colored, giving predators above the impression that there’s nothing but open ocean below them. This type of camouflage is called “counterillumination”.

Résultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies sur son yacht par Albert Ier, prince souverain de Monaco. Albert I, Prince of Monaco, 1911.

(via mudwerks)

invertebrates:

Nudibranchs by *jrtracey

coldraresteaksandwich:

Lobster, Vikki Chu

coldraresteaksandwich:

Undersea, Vikki Chu

biomedicalephemera:

Thornback ray (Raja clavata) and thornback ray skeleton

Like sharks, rays and skates have fully cartilaginous skeletons, which provide a stable structure but more flexibility than bone. You can see that, much like fish, rays have defined, er, rays, in their fins. The difference is that while fish tend to have a few unconnected rays and a taught tissue between them, the Rajiforms (skates and rays) have many, many rays, which are all connected perpendicularly by collagen. The body is then formed around these rays, which propel the Rajiforms forward in an undulating (wave-like) motion.

A history of the fishes of the British Islands. Jonathan Couch, 1863.

(via mudwerks)

biomedicalephemera:

Chironectes bifurcatus [now Rhycherus filamentosus] - The Two-pronged Toad-fish [now the Tasseled Anglerfish]

Despite its accepted current name as the “tasseled anglerfish”, this species is a true frogfish, from the family Antennariidae. While frogfish are members of the same order as all anglerfish (Lophiiformes), they are fairly specialized dwellers on the continental shelf, relying on camouflage to capture their prey, while the deep-sea (benthic) anglerfish rely much more upon stealth and the allure of their, er, lure.

In figure 1a, you can see the structure of the teeth of the tasseled anglerfish. While it doesn’t have the big, stabbing, pointy teeth of some of its cousins, the small, sharp, closely-linked teeth function like tiny hooks in its prey, preventing them from escaping while they’re being eaten. This gives us the additional fun fact that most frogfish (including this one) end up eating their prey while it’s still fully alive and conscious (or at least as conscious as a fish can be) - without any gnashing or tearing of the body, the only thing that kills the prey is suffocation and acid within the stomach.

Natural History of Victoria: Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria. Decade VI. Frederick McCoy, 1881.

ornithoscelidaphiliac:

Coconut octopuses (Cocopuses?) carry around and hide in coconut husks!