Twitter is a popular communication channel amongst the scientific community. Scientists use the platform to communicate with colleagues and share their research findings with both other scientists and the public.[1]

Twitter may also be a valuable source of data for researchers. For example, ecologists from the University of Gloucestershire found that “Twitter-mined” data is useful for phenological studies, such as winged-ant emergence or the appearance of house spiders in the fall.[2]

Twitter conversations can also spark unexpected discoveries. For example, a recent @BioDivLibrary Twitter conversation helped uncover a connection between the scientific literature and a museum’s collections.

It began with Boops boops, a fish — commonly called a bogue — native to the eastern Atlantic. @BioDivLibrary posted an illustration of the species in response to a tweet from Deborah Paul (@idbdeb), who shared the species as an example of a name uncovered while experimenting with parsing taxon names as part of the recent BHL data mining workshop at the University of Illinois.

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Boops boops #SciArt from “A history of the fishes of the British Islands”, v. 1 (1868), in #BHLib via @SILibraries ➡️ https://t.co/A37BOVJ4Ru pic.twitter.com/HZVxA1ntoT

— BHL (@BioDivLibrary) June 18, 2019

The illustration, published in A History of the Fishes of the British Isles (1862-65), was based on a specimen collected in October 1842 and deposited in the Museum of the Royal Cornwall Institute at Truro. The text also mentions a second specimen, which was presented to the British Museum by a “W.P. Cocks, Esq.”. Paul tweeted an inquiry to see if anyone could help track down the current location of the specimen.

… and did you see this?! https://t.co/WzTtJjf6iN ~ specimen collected October 1842 ~ deposited Museum of the Royal Cornwall Institute at Truro ~ Wonder where it is now? Any help @NHM_Digitise? Who has Boops boops specimen from 1842? @ASIHCopeia @SPNHC @GBIF @DiSSCoEU @iDigBio? pic.twitter.com/TuJ09ueKGK

— Deborah Paul (@idbdeb) June 19, 2019

@NHM_Digitise called on James Maclaine (@beardiddley), senior curator of fishes at the Natural History Museum in London, for help tracking down the specimens. Pulling from a reference in Albert Gunther’s Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum, Maclaine responded that the Museum likely held the “W.P. Cocks, Esq.” specimen (with the label reading “Cork” instead of “Cocks”) and proceeded to tweet a picture of the specimen itself.

We do have one of the other ones in the reference I think (assuming W.P.Cocks and W.P.Cork are the same person!). From Albert Gunther’s Catalogue of Fishes, 1859, vol.1, p.419. pic.twitter.com/uZ5gibJmOm

— James Maclaine (@beardiddley) June 20, 2019

Here’s what the Cocks/Cork specimen looks like! The missing one will probably be dried too. pic.twitter.com/sFdaUMn5jW

— James Maclaine (@beardiddley) June 20, 2019

Beyond providing an example of the kinds of discoveries possible on the Twitterverse, this conversation also highlights the value of scientific literature for providing information on museum collections.

“Sadly, despite their many other qualities, the Victorians weren’t great at recording some details which we now would consider essential, so it is often difficult to determine the history of a 19th century fish specimen,” shares Maclaine.

When information is missing on specimen labels, the literature may be able to help fill in the gaps. For Maclaine and others managing collections, having access to this literature through BHL is incredibly valuable.

Can I just say as well, I LOVE BHL, I use it nearly every day!

— James Maclaine (@beardiddley) June 20, 2019

Maclaine finds BHL’s collections particularly useful when researching type specimens, the specific specimen used to describe a new species and the “typical” example of that species.

“Types are the most important part of our collection and are essential to any research on the species that they represent,” explains Maclaine. “However, many currently lurk unrecognized on our shelves, and it’s part of my job to find them, correctly identify them as types, and then update our records accordingly. This is where BHL comes in.”

Maclaine uses BHL sometimes several times each day, using the taxonomic name finding feature to locate literature on specific species, downloading relevant documents as PDFs, and linking to useful references using page permalinks.

“BHL has been fundamentally useful in two ways,” asserts Maclaine. “Firstly, it’s very easy to quickly get old references. Secondly, being able to download them is very helpful too. When investigating potential type specimens, I often have to go back to those first original species descriptions in the 19th century journals, which is now so quick and easy to do online. If I’m lucky, the species author will give a collecting locality, a collector and a measurement. If all three of those and the species name tie up with the specimen, I can be fairly certain that it was used when the species was described and is a type.”

Maclaine first discovered BHL via Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes, a fish taxonomy database of all known fish names, the history of those names and where they were first published.

“One day I noticed a blue hyperlink next to a reference with the message ‘See ref. at BHL’, and that was that,” recalls Maclaine.

As the manager of the fish collection at the Natural History Museum, Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum (1859-1868) is one of the most useful books in BHL’s collection for Maclaine’s work. In fact, it was this title that led him to the “W.P. Cocks, Esq.” specimen that he shared on Twitter.

Managing a 250+ year old collection means that Maclaine is responsible for ensuring that the information available for the specimens in his care is correct and up-to-date. BHL not only helps him provide reliable data for current researchers, but is also a valuable contributor to the legacy he will leave for future researchers.

“I have to think of all the generations of curators and researchers who will come after me and think, will what I’m doing be clear and comprehensible hundreds of years after I’m dead?” says Maclaine. “So, it’s great that I can now download the relevant references and then attach them to the specimen record so that everyone can see what I’ve done and why. I think the only bad thing about BHL is that it means I now spend less time in our Museum Library, another fantastic and irreplaceable resource!”

By making their literature digitally available, our Partners have ensured that anyone, anywhere can access important collections data. We’re proud to be a part of empowering new discoveries and connections, whether that be through a Twitter conversation or the diligent work of a museum collections manager.

References

[1] Phys.org. 2016. “New Study Reveals How Scientists Use Social Media.” Social Sciences, October 12. Accessed on July 9, 2019. https://phys.org/news/2016-10-reveals-scientists-social-media.html.

[2] Adam G. Hart, William S. Carpenter, Estelle Hlustik-Smith, Matt Reed, Anne E. Goodenough. “Testing the potential of Twitter mining methods for data acquisition: Evaluating novel opportunities for ecological research in multiple taxa.” Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2018; DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.13063.

A version of this post was originally published on the blog of the Margaret Smith Library, SAIAB. It is reproduced with permission from the author, Sally Schramm.

The Library at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity is named for Mary Margaret Smith (née Macdonald), the first Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Macdonald attended Rhodes University College in Grahamstown from 1934 to 1937. She was awarded her B.Sc. degree in 1936, majoring in physics and chemistry (with distinction), and became a senior demonstrator in the Chemistry Department.

James Leonard Brierley (JLB) Smith (1897-1968), Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, and Mary Macdonald, were married in 1938. With her not liking the new name “Mary Smith”, she was from that time always known as “Margaret Smith”.

JLB Smith, a keen angler, developed a more formal interest in ichthyology, the study of fishes. His young wife soon became involved in his hobby and accompanied him on fishing trips and collecting expeditions.

In 1946, the Department of Ichthyology was established at Rhodes University and J.L.B and Margaret Smith were able to devote all their energies to the production of an authoritative book on the sea fishes of southern Africa.

One of their greatest problems was a lack of suitable illustrations. Undaunted, despite no artistic training, Margaret Smith, took on the task. The first edition of The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, published in 1949, contained her exceptional illustrations.

She in turn taught what was to become a group of acclaimed natural history artists.

After the death of JLB Smith in January 1968, Margaret Smith continued her ichthyological research in Grahamstown. At the end of 1968, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Rhodes University decided to establish the J.L.B Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Margaret was appointed the first Director of the new Institute, now the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB).

The Margaret Smith House, a women’s residence at Rhodes University, likewise honours her contribution to our local university and to international science.

Margaret Smith died in 1987. She had given 49 years of service to ichthyology.

Margaret’s achievements, the fine building, the reference collection of fish which she so adequately preserved, the status of the institute as a museum of international standing, are there for all to see. What is less known is the woman herself in her private life which few could know much about. This may be summed up in two words: for all her public flamboyance, she was a kind woman. Nobody with a hard-luck story was ever turned away … she helped innumerable people. If something was needed and could not otherwise be got she would dip into her pockets, and never say a word. [1]

The Biodiversity Heritage Library holds a collection of JBL Smith’s Ichthyological Papers, edited by his wife, Margaret Smith, and published in 1969, the year after his death. Contributed by the Library of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the two volume work was published by the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology.

One of the highlights of the publication is the description of the “re-discovery” of the coelacanth, believed to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but rediscovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, discovered a specimen from amongst the catch of a local trawler, Captain Hendrick Goosen, and contacted J.L.B. Smith regarding the discovery. Smith subsequently named the species Latimeria chalumnae after Courtenay-Latimer.

You can read more about the life and achievements of Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer as part of the #HerNaturalHistory campaign.

Reference

[1] PBN Jackson. 1997. Variations on a theme: the three directors of the first fifty years of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr., 51:40.

A version of this post was originally published on the blog of the Margaret Smith Library, SAIAB. It is reproduced with permission from the author, Sally Schramm.

Willie and I look forward to our first born towards the end of April/beginning of May and we both pray it will be a lover of all that is beautiful in nature. Willie wants it to be a botanist — I want it to be a lover of birds and animals.
Eric Latimer’s diary, 25th November 1906

Marjorie Eileen Doris Courtenay-Latimer (1907-2004) is ubiquitously remembered and celebrated for her part in recognising that the large fish trawled by Capt. Hendrik Goosen and the crew of the Nerine in December 1938 was an astonishing find. This was to be identified as the first live coelacanth known to Western science. JLB Smith, the ichthyologist who first described it, named it Latimeria chalumnae after Marjorie, and the Eastern Cape river mouth near which it was found.

Reading the Border Historical Society’s The Coelacanth journal Commemorative edition in honour of Dr Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer (2004) we find a life dedicated to a great deal more than that single event. Her contributions to the Eastern Cape town of East London, and to the Museum in particular, were immense.

Born two months prematurely, surviving practically every childhood disease known — and the Flu Pandemic (1918-1920) — the apparently frail Marjorie’s interest in “all that is beautiful in nature” intensified as her family followed father Eric Latimer to his postings at a succession of often isolated railway stations in the Free State and Eastern Cape. The entire family walked and picnicked, collected, recorded and illustrated specimens, thoroughly appreciative of the wild areas around them.

Keeping natural history journals and scrapbooks became a life-long habit for Marjorie. Here we read in 1938, “Every where everything was beautiful — watched, talked and breathed nature. Every scrap of this day was heavenly”.

We also read of Marjorie, aged 24, as the first curator in 1931 (at £2 a month, with a petty cash allowance of 5/-) of the new and sparsely provisioned East London Museum, with its meagre collections; setting up displays (initially from her family’s own collections) and dioramas; her dedication in building collections both cultural and of natural history; her awareness of the museum’s value and interest to the public and especially to children; and of the planting of the indigenous museum garden. All this was accomplished in the early years with very little help; we read only of one named assistant Enoch [Enoch Elias], who helped Marjorie lug the coelacanth back to the Museum in 1938.

Other contributions tell of her stint on Bird Island in Algoa Bay for six weeks in 1936, with her parents as chaperones (mother enthused, father dreadfully bored); of her botanical and fossil-collecting field trips, often with close friends, specifically of the excavation and mounting of the almost-complete dicnodoni skeleton Kannemeyeria simocephalus.

Marjorie recounts many of these events from her early life and career, and explains how they ultimately contributed to the coelacanth “discovery”, in a 1979 paper published in the Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. For example, it was because of her employment at the East London Museum that she met JLB Smith, with whom she developed a professional relationship that she called upon following her discovery in December 1938. And it was during her time on Bird Island that she met Capt. Hendrik Goosen, who became a regular source of specimens for her collecting activities for the Museum — and ultimately the supplied the famed coelacanth specimen.

Marjorie summarizes her story and the events that culminated in her famed discovery as such:

“This story is one of the most astounding records of a woman’s intuition, for:

had I never gone to Bird Island;
had I never met Dr. JLB Smith who, of all the scientists I met as a young girl struggling with meagre funds in a small Museum, always gave encouragement and never criticism;
and had I not gone to the wharf to wish the men a Happy Christmas,

there never would have been a coelacanth discovery in South Africa, on 22 December 1938.”

Marjorie was an author of scientific and popular literature on a wide variety of topics and was an active member of diverse museum, historical and natural history societies. She supported conservation and the establishment of nature reserves such as Potters Pass, East London, and Gonubie Nature Reserve. Finally, we read of her numerous civic awards, honorary fellowships, and her Honorary Doctorate from Rhodes University.

On her retirement as Director from the East London Museum in 1973, Marjorie moved to Witselbos in the Tsitsikamma area. Her house Mygene was named for her childhood nickname “Genie”, from the popular song “Jeanie with the light brown hair”, “… I see her tripping where the bright streams play, Happy as the daisies that dance on her way …”

Having done a brick-laying course at the East London Technical College, she tackled a kitchen extension with aplomb. She painted and sculpted in clay. She still kept in touch with friends and colleagues world-wide. Forays into nature continued as ever.

She returned to East London in the 1980s. On her moving to frail-care shortly before her death in 2004, a collection of Marjorie’s personal effects (including the certificate and house plaque above) were left behind in the house which she had recently occupied.

Fortuitously, these were subsequently recovered when the house was sold ten years later. A serendipitous chain of events led to the display of some items at Thomas River Historical Village near Cathcart, Eastern Cape. The Village is the site of the original Thomas River Station — where Eric Latimer and his family had lived in the late 1920s.

Among the treasures found was the album presented to Marjorie on her 90th birthday in 1997 “with appreciation and admiration” by the South African Museums Association. There is a facsimile copy at Thomas River Historical Village. Many of the contributors are a who’s who of prominent naturalists, authors and artists, all friends and colleagues.

The many happy memories recalled through the warm contributions would have delighted Willie and Eric Latimer. Their first child was a daughter who truly was a “lover of all that is beautiful in nature”.

Marjorie Courtney-Latimer — a life lived richly beyond the coelacanth!

The “Anthropocene Defaunation” and the Lost Florida Zestos Skipper

We are experiencing a “biological annihilation.”

That’s how scientists are describing the biodiversity loss in what is being recognized as Earth’s sixth mass extinction event [1]. Not only are extinctions occurring at a rate 100 times higher than would occur naturally, but overall populations are also shrinking at alarming rates [1,2].

A 2014 Science report termed it the “Anthropocene defaunation”, reflecting humanity’s role in this biodiversity loss [3]. Among the casualties in this “Age of Humans” is one of “the few butterflies known to have become extinct in the United States” [4] — The Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly Epargyreus zestos oberon (Worthington, 1881) [5]. This butterfly’s story draws forth science, taxonomy, history, and art from the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) for a cutting edge representation of biodiversity in challenging times.

The recorded scientific history of the Zestos Skipper Butterfly extends back to the early nineteenth century. In the 1819 publication Verzeichniss bekannter Schmettlinge [sic], Jacob Hübner first listed the butterfly as Proteides zestos. Hübner later illustrated the P. zestos holotype (type locality “Surinam”, probably in error) via two figures of a female specimen in his Zuträge zur Sammlung exotischer Schmetterlinge (1826). However, as Hübner provided no description to accompany the name and illustration, it was not until 1832, after his death, that his assistant Carl Geyer officially described Proteides zestos as a new species.

Over the next 50 years, this rather unassuming reddish-brown Skipper, with a range from the Florida Keys to the Caribbean, was reclassified and redescribed by various authors. In Dublin, William F. Kirby (1871) assigned it to a new genus (Telegonus zestos) and in Chicago, Charles E. Worthington (1881), examining 31 specimens from Marco Island, Florida, described it as a new species (Endamus [sic] oberon), based on its resemblance to Eudamus tityrus. In 1884, Eugene M. Aaron, after evaluating over 160 specimens of tityrus and zestos, concluded that Proteides zestos, Telegonus zestos, and Eudamus oberon were in fact the same species.

Dr. Marc C. Minno (Insect Ecologist with Eco-Cognizant in Gainesville, FL) began searching for the Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly in 2006. At his request, Skipper butterfly expert Dr. George T. Austin evaluated Zestos Skipper butterfly specimens in the Florida Museum of Natural History collection with type localities from Florida and the Caribbean. Before his death, Austin concluded that the Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly actually represents a unique subspecies or sibling species [6]. Based on his own observations and Austin’s comments, Minno believes “oberon” to be the valid name of the Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly population and has, until he can complete Austin’s study, designated it as Epargyreus zestos oberon (Worthington, 1881) [5].

Over the past 50 years, the Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly population has been in decline. According to Minno, this butterfly, “once locally common in coastal areas of southern Florida”, had “disappeared from the mainland” by the mid-1980s. The last known sightings of Florida Zestos Skippers occurred in January 2004, at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden in Stock Island, Florida [6].

In 2012, Minno et al., concluded a six-year survey looking for declining butterfly species in southern Florida [4]. Because the study failed to produce a single sighting of the Florida Zestos Skipper, in any stage of life, it was recommended that it be presumed extinct. Together with the Rockland Meske’s Skipper, these represent the “first [known] butterfly extinctions in Florida” [4].

The Florida Zestos Skipper exists now only in museums and the pages of historic literature, its memory preserved in natural history collections, libraries, and repositories like the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Vanity: An Artist’s Story of Extinction and Rediscovery in the “Age of Humans”

The Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly is just one of the “biological specimens” featured in Vanity, an art installation by Joseph Gregory Rossano. Created for and with the support of the Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, Washington, Vanity was on display at MOG from March 3 – August 30, 2015. The exhibition tells the story of eleven species and subspecies, presumed extinct, presented through the lens of humanity’s role in their demise.

The installation includes eleven “vanity” cabinets. The cabinet doors, Rossano’s “portrait” of man, are composed of imperfect wood laminate adorned with visual representations of Homo sapiens’ DNA barcode. On the bottom corner of each door, a scientific label hints to the species’ or subspecies’ identity inside the cabinet, beneath these human “fingerprints”. Rossano depicts the species through “faded” pencil portraits and as transparent glass sculptures suspended in clear liquid, inside period specimen jars. The overall effect is of a species vanishing behind the portrait of humanity…just as it has in reality.

Beneath each cabinet are mirrored, almond-shaped glass sculptures and in front of each, a chair with a specimen label: Homo sapiens. These objects accentuate humanity’s role in the loss of each species, for, as Rossano articulates in the exhibition catalogue, “When viewing Vanity from a seated position, we see ourselves reflected in these forms that echo the divine. In our vanity we reflect generations of humans who saw themselves as divine, while the truly divine—our 11 innocent and bygone species, subspecies, and their stories—reflect the truth about us” [7].

Rossano’s use of glass as a medium is equally deliberate: “like our environment, glass is transparent, fragile, and reflective — transparent in that it hides nothing, fragile in that once damaged it may never be repaired, and reflective of how we have impacted it” [8].

Each cabinet also offers a QR code leading to historical accounts of the enclosed species. These accounts summarize the species’ “discovery” (collection date, type locality, collector, scientific illustrations, etc.), humanity’s role in its extinction, and the year it was declared “Extinct”. To produce these species tales, Rossano collaborated with Sandra I. Berríos-Torres, MD. Berríos-Torres served as author of the 11 historical accounts and as Editorial Director of the exhibition catalogue, on behalf of Joseph Gregory Rossano.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library was a crucial resource for Berríos-Torres. Consulting dozens of publications in BHL while conducting research for Vanity, she ultimately cited 16 of them in the historical accounts that were incorporated into the exhibition and catalogue. The Florida Zestos Skipper Butterfly had the highest number of BHL citations in Vanity. Berríos-Torres used BHL to follow the butterfly’s taxonomic journey from its first listing by Hübner in 1819 to Aaron’s evaluation of the species in 1884.

“BHL resources were invaluable in my research for Vanity, in particular for accessing publications with the first collection, scientific description, and illustrations,” affirms Berríos-Torres. “The publications dated from 1819 to 2002, were published in English, German, Dutch, and French, and were contributed to BHL by 10 institutions, including university libraries, museums, government libraries, scientific research institutions, and botanical garden libraries across the USA, Canada, and England.”

From BOLD to Vanity

Berríos-Torres is an orthopaedic surgeon and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention trained epidemiologist who has conducted laboratory and field research on infectious diseases and had a lead role in public health responses to national and international infectious disease outbreaks. Berríos-Torres was initially introduced to Rossano in the fall of 2009 at the opening of his BOLD exhibit, which examined species identity through art and incorporated Barcode of Life Data Systems‘ (BOLD) DNA barcodes into the installation’s sculptures.

BOLD was inspired by Rossano’s 2008 visit to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica at the invitation of Bradley Zlotnick, MD. At ACG, Rossano learned about DNA barcoding and met Zlotnick’s mentors, tropical ecologists Dr. Daniel H. Janzen and Dr. Winnie Hallwachs. Their 2004 landmark study on cryptic butterfly species, in collaboration with researchers at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (John M. Burns) and the University of Guelph, Canada (Paul D. N. Hebert, Erin H. Penton), “…illustrate(d) the value of DNA barcoding, especially when coupled with traditional taxonomic tools, in disclosing hidden diversity” [9]. Barcodes offered a “rediscovery” of biodiversity. Concurrently with BOLD, Rossano’s Whitewashed exhibition “…aimed at revealing our own species’ whitewashing of Man’s relationship with nature throughout time” [7].

In 2013, the art critic for the Seattle Stranger drew a parallel between Whitewashed and a blog post about eight animal species and three subspecies reported as “Extinct”, including the Eskimo Curlew, Numenius borealis (Forster, 1772), one of the species highlighted in Whitewashed and also featured in the blog. The post inspired Rossano to imagine a new installation on extinction, and Vanity was born.

Vanity and the Biodiversity Heritage Library

Berríos-Torres first discovered BHL in December 2014 while performing literature searches for the species’ historical accounts in Vanity. It quickly became a daily part of her research process.

“Between December 2014 and March 2015, in the three short months allotted to research and compose the historical accounts of the 11 animals depicted in the exhibition, I used BHL on a daily basis,” shares Berríos-Torres. “In the following months, as Editorial Director of the Vanity exhibition catalogue, I used BHL several times a week, in search of illustrations.”

Tracking down relevant publications required quite a bit of sleuthing. For this, BHL’s various advanced search options proved invaluable.

“In general, the most important aspect of the BHL resources lay in the ability to access first descriptions and early illustrations,” explains Berríos-Torres. “At the onset, the only information I had was the species’ or subspecies’ common and scientific names. A Google search on the scientific names yielded two additional pieces of information: the last name of the person who first described it in the scientific literature and the date of that description. Rarely could I readily find the full name of the person who described it or the original citation. The opportunity to employ varied advanced search strategies in BHL proved indispensable, particularly when starting with such limited information on the subject.”

In addition to the Zestos Skipper Butterfly, BHL provided valuable references for several other species featured in Vanity, including a freshwater shrimp from Java Macrobrachium leptodactylus (de Man, 1879a), the Clouded Leopard of Formosa (Taiwan) Neofelis nebulosa (Griffith, 1821), and the Scioto Madtom Catfish Noturus trautmani (Taylor, 1969).

The Scioto Madtom Catfish was first described by Smithsonian scientist Dr. William R. Taylor, former curator of fishes at the National Museum of Natural History, based on a “funny looking catfish” collected by Dr. Milton B. Trautman in 1943, from Big Darby Creek in Pickaway County, Ohio [14]. Using BHL, Berríos-Torres was able to retrieve Taylor’s original description and a photograph of the holotype, a male specimen housed in the Smithsonian collections. Scioto madtom has not been observed since Trautman’s last collected specimen in 1957 [15]. Habitat loss and competition from the Northern Madtom Noturus stigmosus (Taylor, 1969) may have contributed to Scioto Madtom’s extinction [15,16]. In 2013, the IUCN Red List declared Noturus trautmani “Extinct” [17].

Beyond Vanity

The themes in BOLD and Vanity continue to evolve and converge. In 2017, Dr. Jacob J.D. Egge, scientific collaborator on the Vanity exhibition catalogue, championed bringing Vanity to The University Gallery at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU, Tacoma, Washington). There, Rossano expanded the installation to include select biological specimens from Washington state and housed in PLU’s Burton Ostenson Natural History Museum collection. The specimens were displayed atop multiple antique mirrored vanities across from the original installation and included a taxidermied woodpecker alongside Rossano’s clear glass sculpture of the same. Berríos-Torres compiled a supplement to the Vanity exhibition catalogue composed of natural history summaries of the PLU specimens, written by students in Egge’s Natural History of Vertebrates course. The students’ writings were incorporated into the expanded installation through QR codes on the wall, alongside the corresponding museum specimen. In 2018, Egge and Rossano presented on their Vanity collaboration at the University of Puget Sound’s Art|Sci: Art+Science salon.

The La Jolla Historical Society, inspired by Vanity, invited Rossano to create a work that reflected a part of San Diego’s biodiversity for the 2018 La Jolla Canyons: Place, Diversity, Connections exhibition (Wisteria Cottage, La Jolla, California). The Solitary Vireo cryptic species complex [18,19], revealed by DNA sequencing to be three distinct songbird species, includes Cassin’s vireo Vireo cassinii (Xántus, 1858), the only one of the three that migrates through San Diego County. Rossano displayed three morphologically indistinguishable clear glass vireo sculptures, blown in the likeness of museum collection specimens and identified solely through scientific tags or DNA barcodes (as in BOLD), atop an antique mirrored vanity (as in Vanity at PLU).

BHL: Discovery and Rediscovery for Bioliteracy

Vanity asks the viewer to face their own culpability in the loss of our biodiversity heritage. The question is, will we listen? Will we heed the warnings that the tales of species like the Zestos Skipper convey? Or will our own vanity get in the way? As this heritage continues to disappear, do we face a future where the historic literature and museum collections become the only places where we can explore and appreciate these “lost” species? As Dr. Minno wrote in his personal reflection on the Zestos Skipper Butterfly for the Vanity exhibition catalogue:

“[Vanity] gives us a chance to think about our role in this beautiful and vibrant world. The butterflies are telling us that something is wrong with the environment. We must learn to live modestly and to protect our planet if butterflies, as well as humans, are to survive” [20].

From historic literature and museum specimens, to traditional morphological taxonomy and modern DNA barcoding techniques, Vanity and BOLD convey and reflect more than just humanity’s role in this epoch’s loss of biodiversity. Rossano’s installations highlight the “renaissance of taxonomy” [21], the need for continued scientific exploration, and the opportunities that abound in gaining a better understanding Earth’s biodiversity. Mora et al., have predicted that, “In spite of 250 years of taxonomic classification and over 1.2 million species already catalogued in a central database…some 86% of existing species on Earth and 91% of species in the ocean still await description” [22].

As Berríos-Torres’ reflection on her research for Vanity demonstrates, access to historic literature, images, and other library materials are vital to cataloguing, understanding, and communicating Earth’s biological heritage.

“BHL is unparalleled and vital in providing worldwide access to a free, publicly available, digital biodiversity repository and reference library,” affirms Berríos-Torres. “For scientists and the public alike, BHL complements the DNA barcode taxonomy reference sequences to discover and rediscover biodiversity. Together they are rich wells of collaboration democratizing global bioliteracy.”

 

Acknowledgements

Berríos-Torres wishes to acknowledge Joseph Gregory Rossano, Museum of Glass, Bradley Zlotnick, MD, C.B. Bell III, and all Collaborating Scientists:

• Franco Andreone, PhD, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Italy (Cape Verde Giant Skink)
• Neil Burkhead, MS, (Retired) United States Geological Survey (USGS), Southeast Ecological Science Center, USA (Santa Cruz [Monkey Spring] Pupfish)
• Po-Jen Chiang, PhD Formosan Wild Sound Conservation Science Center Co. Taiwan (Clouded Leopard of Formosa)
• Neil Cumberlidge, PhD, Chair, IUCN Freshwater Crustacean Specialist Group, USA (Freshwater Shrimp from Java)
• Jacob J. D. Egge, PhD, Pacific Lutheran University, USA (Scioto Madtom Catfish)
• Robert E. Gill, Jr. MS, USGS, Alaska Science Center, USA (Eskimo Curlew)
• Lonnie I. Grassman, PhD Texas A&M University, USA (Clouded Leopard of Formosa)
• Marc C. Minno, PhD, Eco-Cognizant, Inc. USA (Rockland Meske’s Skipper & Florida Zestos Skipper Butterflies)
• Rohan Pethiyagoda B.Sc., M.Phil, (Retired) Australian Museum, Australia (Sri Lanka Spiny Eel)
• Edwin P. (Phil) Pister, MA – Desert Fishes Council, USA
• Hubert Planton, DVM, Veterinarian and African Wildlife Consultant, France (Western Black Rhino)
• Claudio Soto-Azat, MV, MSc, PhD, Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile (Northern Darwin Frog)
• Raquel Vasconcelos, PhD, University of Porto, Portugal (Cape Verde Giant Skink)

References

[1] Ceballos G., Ehrlich P.R., Dirzo R. (2017). Biological Annihilation via the Ongoing Sixth Mass Extinction Signaled by Vertebrate Population Losses and Declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul, 114 (30) E6089-E6096; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1704949114.

[2] Ceballos G., Ehrlich P.R., Barnosky A.D., García A., Pringle R.M., and Palmer T.M. (2015). Accelerated Modern Human–Induced Species Losses: Entering the Sixth Mass Extinction. Science Advances 1(5). e1400253DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1400253.

[3] Dirzo R., Young H.S., Galetti M., Ceballos G., Isaac N.J.B., Collen B. (2014). Defaunation in the Anthropocene. Science 345(6195): pp. 401-406. DOI: 10.1126/science.1251817.

[4] Minno M. C., Daniels J., Jue D. K. (2012). Statement on the Extinction, Decline, and Loss of Butterflies in South Florida. Available at http://www.bio.miami.edu/horvitz/Plant-animal%20interactions%202013/conservation/required%20readings/Statement%20on%20Species%20Loss%20June%202012%20MC%20Minno.pdf. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[5] Schweitzer D. F., Minno M. C., and Wagner D. L. (2011). Rare, Declining, and P​oorly Known Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) of Forests and Woodlands in the Eastern United States. U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, FHTET-2011-01. USDA Forest Service, Morgantown, West Virginia. 517 pp.

[6] Minno M.C. (2010). Butterfly Extinctions in South Florida. American Butterflies 8(3):17. Available at: http://www.naba.org/pubs/ab183/ab183_extinctions.pdf. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[7] Rossano, J.G. (2015). Preface. In S.I. Berríos-Torres (Ed.), Joseph Gregory Rossano: Vanity (pp.13-16). Tacoma, WA: Museum of Glass.

[8] Lawrimore S. (2015). Swan Song. In S.I. Berríos-Torres (Ed.), Joseph Gregory Rossano: Vanity (pp.21-26). Tacoma, WA: Museum of Glass.

[9] Hebert P.D.N., Penton E.H., Burns J.M., Janzen D.H., and Hallwachs W. (2004). Ten Species in One: DNA Barcoding Reveals Cryptic Species in the Neotropical Skipper Butterfly Astraptes Fulgerator. PNAS 101(41): 14812-14817. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0406166101. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[10] Buckley-Beason V.A. et al. (2006). Molecular Evidence for Species-Level Distinctions in Clouded Leopards. Current Biology 16(23):2371-2376. Available at: http://www.cloudedleopard.org/Documents/Val_CB_2006.pdf. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[11] Grassman L., Lynam A., Mohamad S., Duckworth J.W., Bora J., Wilcox D., Ghimirey Y., Reza A. & Rahman H. (2016). Neofelis nebulosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T14519A97215090. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T14519A97215090.en. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[12] De Grave S., Smith K.G., Adeler N.A., Allen D.J., Alvarez F., Anker A., et al. (2015). Dead Shrimp Blues: A Global Assessment of Extinction Risk in Freshwater Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea). PLoS ONE 10(3): e0120198. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0120198. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[13] Berríos-Torres S.I. (2015). Freshwater Shrimp from Java. Macrobrachium leptodactylus (de Man, 1879a). In S.I. Berríos-Torres (Ed.), Joseph Gregory Rossano: Vanity (pp.52-56). Tacoma, WA: Museum of Glass.

[14] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). (1976). National Digital Library. Milton B. Trautman Oral History Transcript. Interview with Milton B. Trautman. Interviewer Michael Smith. “Audio Cassette Dub from Reel-to Reel”. July 1976. Available at: http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ref/collection/document/id/1031. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[15] Scioto madtom (Noturus trautmani) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Region, Ohio Ecological Services Field Office, Columbus, Ohio. Available at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/recovery/5yr_rev/pdf/scma5yr2009.pdf. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[16] King C.C. (1981). Prairies of the Darbie Plains in West-Central Ohio. Stuckie & Reese. Ohio Biological Survey Biology Notes 15:108-127. Available at: http://images.library.wisc.edu/EcoNatRes/EFacs/NAPC/NAPC06/reference/econatres.napc06.cking.pdf. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[17] NatureServe. Noturus trautmani. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T14908A19032932. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T14908A19032932.en. Accessed on 6 December 2018.

[18] Murray B. W., McGillivray W. B., Barlow J. C., Beech R. N., and Strobeck C. (1994). The Use of Cytochrome B Sequence Variation in Estimation of Phylogeny in the Vireonidae. The Condor 96:1037-1054. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v096n04/p1037-p1054.pdf. Accessed on 17 December 2018.

[19] Johnson N.K. (1995). Speciation in Vireos. I. Macrogeographic Patterns of Allozymic Variation in the Vireo Solitarius Complex in the Contiguous United States. The Condor 97:903-919. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v097n04/p0903-p0919.pdf. Accessed on 17 December 2018.

[20] Minno, M.C. (2015). Reflections on the Rockland Meske’s Skipper Butterfly and the Zestos Skipper Butterfly. In S.I. Berríos-Torres (Ed.), Joseph Gregory Rossano: Vanity (pp.52-56). Tacoma, WA: Museum of Glass.

[21] Miller S.E. (2007). DNA Barcoding and the Renaissance of Taxonomy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(12): pp. 4775-6. Epub 2007 Mar 15. https://www.pnas.org/content/104/12/4775. Accessed on 17 December 2018.

[22] Mora C, Tittensor DP, Adl S, Simpson AGB, Worm B. (2011). How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? PLoS Biol 9(8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127. Accessed on 17 December 2018.

This post is the fourth in our series leading up to the celebration of World Oceans Day on June 8. This series explores publications that represent important milestones in the progress of marine bioscience research and ocean exploration.

When you think of the largest creatures in the ocean, what do you picture?  You might be surprised about which creatures are largest, and about some of their fascinating histories and habits!  A recent article in the journal PeerJ documents the body length of some of the longest animals in the ocean, and in preparation for World Oceans Day on June 8, we’re diving deeper into the top ten listed in that article.

Sizing Ocean Giants: Patterns of Intraspecific Size Variation in Marine Megafauna by McClain et al | PeerJ

One of the First Scientists to Record a Plethora of Species: Linnaeus

Carl von Linnaeus (also known as Carl von Linné) was the first person to record several of the species in this top ten list, which he did in his book, Systema Naturae.  The tenth version of this book, published in 1758, is considered his authoritative taxonomical text, and scientists use the year 1758 to refer to Linnaeus’ taxa from this book (an important change Linnaeus made in the tenth version was to move whales to the mammal class rather than the fishes class).  Linnaeus was a Swedish zoologist and botanist, and also practiced as a physician.  He was born in Sweden in 1707, traveled to the Netherlands in his thirties to write Systema Naturae, returned to Sweden, and continued traveling throughout his life to further classify biological organisms.  He is known for creating the forerunner to the modern binomial nomenclature system, which was referred to as the Linnaean taxonomy.  He died in 1778 after having the opportunity to engage in philosophical conversations with other famous philosophers, teach medicine and botany, and continue to add to his taxonomy.

A Dive into Ten Ocean Giants, from Longest to Smallest (though still very long!):

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish | view in book here

1. The lion’s mane jellyfish (Medusa capillata, also known as Cyanea capillata) is the largest species of jellyfish, and possibly the longest animal in the world, with tentacles that make this jellyfish 120 feet in length (though some estimates suggest that the bootlace worm, found in muddy and sandy shores and tide pools around the North Sea, is longer – possibly more than 170 feet long. However, since ribbon worms can stretch much more than their actual growth rate, these estimates are controversial).  It lives in cold waters, such as the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, as well as the English channel, Irish Sea, North Sea, Scandanavian waters and sometimes the Baltic Sea.  Its tentacles are long, thin and hair-like, which is why it is referred to as a “lion’s mane”.  The bell, or umbrella, which comprises the top part of the jellyfish, can grow up to a diameter of 78.74 inches.  The hair-like tentacles emerge from the margin of the bell, in eight groups of 70 to 150 (or more) hollow tentacles, while more tentacles emerge from the bell’s subumbrella.  This jellyfish is generally a vivid yellow, orange or red color.  It feeds on zooplankton, and small fish, among other smaller creatures, and its predators include larger fish, seabirds, other jellyfish, and sea turtles.  The lion’s mane jellyfish was first scientifically documented (as Medusa capillata) by Carl von Linnaeus in 1758, in his Systema Naturae, which you can read here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727573.

Fun facts: The lion’s mane jellyfish was featured in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane”, in which the “murderer” turns out to be the jellyfish—although in real life, the lion’s mane jellyfish is not capable of killing humans, only causing a very painful sting that can result in blisters, cramps and affected heart rate and respiratory function.

Blue Whale | view in book here

2. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 in Systema Naturae, and was thought to be the largest animal on the planet, though if measuring by length, it is out-shadowed by the lion’s mane jellyfish.  The blue whale is 108.27 feet long, and can weigh as much as 40 African elephants.  This species is also considered to have one of the fastest swimming speeds, at up to 30 miles per hour.  They live in all of the world’s oceans.  These amazing mammals eat up to seven tons of krill per day, by stretching their throats to open their mouths wider, and then gulping a large amount of water filled with krill.  They then use their tongues to expel the water out again through baleen plates, which capture the krill and prevent them from escaping.  The blue whale has the deepest voice of any living creature (at a frequency below humans hearing), and their voices can be heard by other blue whales for thousands of miles underwater.  Scientists have theorized that these far-reaching vocalizations help the whales map their locations across oceans.  Very little is known about their mating patterns.  This species can live as long as a human: 80 to 90 years.  You can read Linnaeus’ account of the blue whale here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726981.

Fun facts: Blue whales can dive underwater for up to 30 minutes.  A whale’s age can be determined by counting layers of waxy earplugs that develop in the whales over time (like counting tree rings).

Sperm Whale, Fig. C | view in book here

3. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) was also first described by Linnaeus in 1758.  At a length of 78.74 feet, it is the third-longest animal listed in the PeerJ article.  Among whales with teeth, the sperm whale is the largest, and also has the largest brain of any animal on the planet.  The sperm whale’s head takes up a third of its body length, and there is a specialized feature in the head that helps this whale dive deeper or rise to the surface of the water: the spermaceti organ.  This refers to a large cavity in the whale’s head filled with a waxy substance called spermaceti oil, which can be cooled (to shrink and increase density, allowing the whale to dive deeper), or heated (to expand and decrease density, allowing the whale to rise to the surface of the water).  Scientists posit that the spermaceti oil is cooled by water intake through the whale’s blowhole.  However, scientists are still trying to figure out the purpose of the spermaceti organ, and some believe it might absorb unnecessary nitrogen during dives, or help make the whale’s communicative clicking sounds resonate more loudly.  While the head of this species is extremely large, its lower, toothy jaw is very narrow and short in comparison.  The sperm whale eats giant squid, which live in deeper parts of the ocean, thus the sperm whale can dive up to one mile deep and stay under water for up to 90 minutes.  Sperm whales can live up to 70 years, and while they are close to the top of the food chain, they can be attacked by killer whales.  You can read Linnaeus’ account of the sperm whale, which is on the same page as that of the blue whale, here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726981.

Fun facts: In Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab was fighting a sperm whale.  The skin of a sperm whale is dark brown or blue-black, and is said to feel like the pit of a plum.  Sperm whales produce ambergris, which was once used in perfume making.  Scientists count the layers of dentinal growth on sections of sperm whale teeth to determine age.

Whale Shark (referred to here as Rhinodon Typicus), illustration by Sir Andrew Smith | view in book here

4.  The whale shark (Rhincodon typus), with a length of 61.68 feet, was first described by Sir Andrew Smith in 1828.  Smith published his findings on the whale shark in 1829 in Zoological Journal.  Smith (born 1797, died 1872) is considered a major influence in South African zoology.  He was born in Scotland, got his M.D., and practiced as a surgeon, ethnologist and zoologist.  He traveled with the Army Medical Services to South Africa and studied biological specimens there, as well as studying people native to the region.  He illustrated many specimens in Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa (1838-1850), which you can read here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11059799.  Smith first noted the whale shark in 1828 after one was harpooned in South Africa while he was stationed there.  While it is similar in size to a whale, the whale shark is actually the largest fish in the world.  It has a wide, flat head and mouth, and dark, grey-blue skin with a beautiful pattern of pale yellow dots all over the top and sides of its body.  This shark has five large gills which contain cartilage that acts as a sieve.  Whale sharks generally eat smaller fish, and suck their prey into their large mouths and then swallow the unfortunates.  It is considered a filter feeder like the basking shark (to be mentioned later), but is much more active in its feeding than the basking shark, pumping water into its mouth sometimes in a stationary position, unlike the basking shark, which needs to swim in order to allow water into its mouth.  The whale shark lives in tropical and warm seas around the globe.  This species is not generally harmful to humans.  Unfortunately, people continue to hunt these sharks for human consumption, using parts of the shark in health supplements and shark fin soup.  Read Sir Andrew Smith’s description of the whale shark in The Zoological Journal here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2310852.

Fun facts: The whale shark’s mouth has up to 300 very small teeth, the function of which are unknown.  While scientists do not have a great understanding about how whale sharks reproduce, a pregnant female was captured and inside of her were 300 fetuses.  Known as gentle giants, sometimes humans can swim alongside, or catch a ride with, the whale shark.

7.  The giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), with a radial spread of 32.15 feet, is the largest among a group of octopuses referred to as the “giant octopus”.  The first scientific description of this particular giant octopus is by Gerhard Wülker, in 1910, where he refers to it by a synonymous name, “Polypus dofleini”.  You can read Wülker’s original description of “Polypus dofleini” here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39312736.  Wülker (born 1885, died 1930) was a German zoologist who is famous for being the first to identify the giant octopus.  E. dofleini is found in the Pacific Ocean (and is thus known as the giant Pacific octopus), and can be found as deep as 6,600 feet below the ocean’s surface.  This species lives longer than other octopuses, with a lifespan of up to 5 years.  Like all octopuses, E. dofleini has a head, eight arms with suckers on each, and papillae (hooks) lining the suckers to increase the octopus’ ability to hold onto things, such as prey.  Prey include lobsters, fish, scallops, and shrimp, among other creatures.  Once prey is captured, either by using arms singularly or all together, it is brought up to the beak at the mouth and then torn apart by a toothy tongue called a radula.  E. dofleini has distinctive longitudinal folds on its body.  These octopuses follow a pattern of mating and reproducing once, and then dying, which is referred to as “semelparity”.  After reproducing, the giant Pacific octopus will enter a seemingly gruesome phase leading up to death called “senescence”: the octopuses will eat little, their skin will retract unpleasantly, white lesions appear on the body, and activity becomes clumsy until death ensues by starvation or being preyed upon.

Fun facts: The giant Pacific octopus can lay up to 400,000 eggs, which are cared for by the female members of the species; the female stops eating to do this, and dies soon after the eggs hatch.  E. dofleini sometimes eats sharks, such as the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), which can be up to four feet long.

Giant Oarfish | view in book here

8.  The giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne), which is 26.25 feet long, was described by Peter Ascanius in 1772.  Ascanius (born 1723, died 1803) was a Norwegian scientist who taught zoology and minerology in Copenhagen.  He also practiced as a biologist, and was instructed by Carl von Linnaeus.  Like other scientists in this post, Ascanius was elected as a foreign member to a society dedicated to improving knowledge in scientific fields: in 1755 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society [in London], where he was considered a Fellow.  The giant oarfish is known as the “king of herrings”, and lives in oceans around the world.  Its body is shaped like a ribbon and it has a dorsal fin along its back that becomes vertically long right above its head, giving it the appearance of a rooster’s cockscomb.  This species has two pelvic fins comprised of only one ray; the fins are long and resemble oars.  There is a membrane at the tip of each pelvic fin that some scientists believe is used for tasting things.  Without teeth, the giant oarfish consumes krill by gulping water and then expelling it, trapping the krill in the gullet by means of a series of long spines.  Ascanius first wrote about the giant oarfish in 1772 in his work, Icones Rerum Naturalium, which is in the process of being digitized for BHL.  You can read the next earliest mention of the giant oarfish at the Biodiversity Heritage Library here, in Volume 2 of Monsieur le comte de La Cepède’s text, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12053207.  La Cepède, also known as Bernard Germain Étienne de La Ville sur Illon (born 1756, died 1825), was well-known for his contributions to the abovementioned work, Histoire Naturelle, written along with Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon.  La Cepède was a French naturalist and freemason.  Like other scientists on this list, La Cepède was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society [London], and as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, as well as a member of the Institute of France [L’Institut national de France].

Fun facts: The giant oarfish has no scales—instead, its body is covered in wart-like bumps called “tubercles”.  Adult members of this species sometimes kill themselves by swimming onto beaches.  The giant oarfish can self-amputate a part of the posterior end of its body, and apparently does this several times during its lifetime, as the amputated area repeatedly heals over into a stump.

Great White Shark | view in book here

9. The great white shark (Squalus carcharias, also known as Carcharodon carcharias), at 22.96 feet long, was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 under the name Squalus carcharias.  The great white shark lives in most all oceans around the world, and can appear in coastal waters.  This species of shark is infamous for having the largest number of unprovoked attacks on humans.  However, the great white shark does not intentionally feed on humans.  Shark prey includes seals, dolphins, whales, sea lions, fish, seabirds, and other smaller creatures.  While they would appear to be at the top of the food chain, great white sharks can rarely be attacked, and killed, by groups of orca whales.  Scientists know very little about their mating behavior, but female sharks give birth to live young.  Great whites can swim up to 25 miles per hour in pursuit of prey, and launch themselves into the air from the water.  These sharks use smell, sound location and electroreception to spot prey from great distances.  The great white shark, unlike the majority of other fish, can maintain a higher body temperature than that of the surrounding water by means of a heat exchange system in their blood vessels.  These sharks can live up to 50 years.  Read Linnaeus’ account of Squalus carcharias here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727146.

Fun facts: The oldest fossils of the great white shark are 16 million years old.  It is believed that the great white shark does not intentionally seek to attack humans, but is merely engaging in “test bites”, which it also performs on other unfamiliar objects in order to identify those objects.  The great white shark was featured in Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws, as well as Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the same.

Giant Manta Ray | view in book here

10.  The giant manta ray (Manta birostris, also known as Raja birostris) has a disc width of 22.96 feet, is the largest ray in the world, and can weigh up to two tons.  This creature was first described by Johann Julius Walbaum in 1792.  Walbaum (born 1724, died 1799), was a German physician.  He was also a naturalist and taxonomist, and the first to record many new-to-science species.  He referred to the giant manta ray as Raja birostris in his original description of the creature, though the giant manta ray is now known as Manta birostris.  This species inhabits tropical and temperate waters around the globe, and eats zooplankton like shrimp and krill.  The giant manta ray has triangle-shaped pectoral wings on either side of its body, and lobe-shaped fins towards the front of its body, extending from either side of the head.  These fins can aid in pushing water into the mouth to catch prey.  There are 18 rows of teeth in the lower jaw of its large, rectangular mouth.  Their skin is black, blue or brown, with a white underside.  Scientists look at unique patterns of markings and scars to identify individual rays.  The giant manta ray can live up to 20 years.  Read Walbaum’s description of Raja birostris here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39001752.

Fun facts: The giant manta ray can eat up to 13% of its body weight in food each week.  Sometimes the ray will remain still near a coral reef while other fish eat off pieces of loose skin and parasites, which cleans the ray and provides food for the fish.  The giant manta ray can leap out of the water, possibly as part of a mating ritual, and their offspring are called “pups”.

More World Oceans Day Resources

• Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and this blog all this week as we explore marine biodiversity and awesome related publications in BHL.
• Check out some monumental publications in historic and present-day marine bioscience research in our BHL collection.
• Browse a selection of marine biodiversity illustrations in Flickr and Pinterst