Antique Prints

[den]

It's interesting seeing old prints of common animals. It's obvious the print maker didn't see the animals, he'd only had them described to him.

Greater Glider, Koala, and a pair of wombats playing with their litter.

Platypus, Echidna (with the back feet on backwards) and ... an armadillo? Damn those colonials! Can't they keep their bizzare animals in one place?

Comments

[psaakyrn.livejournal.com]

At least they got the platypus mostly right...

(though a creature which looks like a mishmash of multiple creatures might be easier to describe)

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

That's an awfully diabolical looking wombat...

[tropism.livejournal.com]

I thought the same thing. %)

[level-head.livejournal.com]

You'd probably appreciate that the armadillo is officially called a "pink fairy". ];-)

It really looks like that. (http://www.cricyt.edu.ar/INSTITUTOS/iadiza/ojeda/Edentados/pichi%20foto.jpg)

It has a very unusual "hatch-shaped" armored tail, and lives in South America. (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/Grzimek_mammals/Dasypodidae/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.jpg/medium.jpg&imgrefurl=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/Grzimek_mammals/Dasypodidae/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.jpg/view.html&h=240&w=477&sz=19&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=smLeqmLjhAeJLM:&tbnh=65&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522pink%2Bfairy%2522%2Barmadillo%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG)

And probably needs someone to properly represent it with the wings and miniskirt...

===|==============/ Level Head

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I imagine the naturalist finished his description to the engraver with the words "...and they're EVIL bastards!"