File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17974835829).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo15amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY 353 Marcgrav, Nieremberg and Jonston also copy Clusius' somewhat fanciful repre- sentation of the three-toed sloth, called the Ignavus, Ai or Haut, and in Spanish the perillo ligcro. The compendium of Oviedo, published in 1526, was followed in 1535 by his larger work, of which a modern reprint exists, entitled Historia general de las Indies. Another work having the same title, by Francisco Lopez Gomara, was first printed in 1553, and passed through several editions. Both these works, excellent in their way, contain much valuable information concerning the aborigines, and animal and plant life of the southern continent and the West Indies. Gomara gives the earliest known figure of the buffalo, or American bison, and Oviedo is the first author to represent the iguana and manatee. Un- der the native designation of "Anta," two Patagonian animals appear to have been indicated by Gomara. One of them is pretty certainly the guanaco, and the other is conjecturally identified by M. Roulin, in his Memoire sur Ir Tapir (1835), as the guemul or huemul deer. Concerning the guanaco, this creature was first seen by Magellan in 1519, in the vicinity of the straits that bear his name. The earliest mention of this animal, of the rhea, penguin and fur seal as ob- served in Patagonia, occurs in the narra- tive of Antonio Pigafetta,^ who accom- panied the famous navigator on his voyage around the world. It was near the Straits of Magellan that the guennd deer was first seen by Captain Wallis. In early accounts this animal was con- fused with a supposed equine species, first scientifically described by Molina under the name of Equus bisulcus, and represented in the Chilean coat-of-arms ' It Is there mentioned that the Patagonians, whom the voyagers encoimtered at Port St. JuHan, were clothed with the "Skinne of a Beast sewed together," and that "Tiiis Beast (as it seemed unto us) had a large head, and great eares like unto a Mule, with the body of a Camell, and tayle of a Horse." In the relation of Olivier van Noort's voyage (1.598), it is stated that at Port Desire they "found Beasts like Stagges and Buffals." The first English navigator to take detailed notice of this ruminant appears to have been Wood, in the narrative of his Voyage through the Straights of Magellan (1670).
Text Appearing After Image:
This gayly caparisoned creature is meant by Aldrovandi (1G37) to represent the nine-banded arma- dillo. Enciso described it a century earlier, and Belon and L'Escluse gave good figures

Note About Images