Item PZ 47.1 Pencil illustration - bryozoan, Lace Coral, Dictyopora cellulosa, by James Ripper

Summary

This scientific illustration by James Ripper of the bryozoan Adeona cellulosa from Queenscliff (named Dictyopora cellulosa in the Prodromus) was commissioned by Sir Frederick McCoy, Director of Museum Victoria as part of his zoological research. Bryozoa, often called lace corals, are often cryptic and appear dull-coloured to the naked eye, and their true beauty is often revealed through a microscope. McCoy treated some 300 bryozoan species in the Prodromus, and such illustrations showcase their delicate, fine and ornately-sculptured calcareous skeletons. This work is part of the much larger Prodromus Collection which includes approx. 1000 illustration of specimens from colonial Victoria. Many of the oriignal illustrations in the collection informed the production of the two volume work 'The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria' which was Museum Victoria's first major publication from 1878.

Description of Content

Adeona cellulosa (MacGillivray, 1869) by James Ripper. Illustration, pencil on paper, for Plate 47 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.