BHL Australia

Happy #WorldOctopusDay!

Alongside the Octopus Furvus, this illustration shows the Octopus Tetricus—the common Sydney octopus or “Gloomy” octopus. This octopus ranges along the eastern coastline of Australia and can also be found in Northern New Zealand.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32033245

New this week! Among our recent uploads to BHL are the 1953-1955 volumes of the “Records of the South Australian Museum”. Included here is the introduction of the spotted stingaree to the scientific record by Trevor Scott in 1954.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65114357

We’re hopping into #MarsupialMonday to appreciate the agile #wallaby 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴. A resident of Australia’s north, this wallaby can also be found in southern New Guinea.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/62576010

Contributed to BHL Australia by Museums Victoria

We love “Harmonia ruralis” by #JamesBolton (1735-1799), an English naturalist & illustrator. Here focuses on the songbirds of Britain and their nests and eggs. His primary interest was fungi, but this late work was popular enough to be reprinted.

➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/63894402

This #FloralFriday we’re admiring the botanical observations of the Ross Expedition in “The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H. M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839-1843” by Joseph Dalton Hooker, illustrated by W. H. Fitch.

➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13448423

This #ThreatenedThursday we're highlighting the Norfolk Island golden whistler (#2). In 2005, it was estimated there were 535 breeding pairs. This small population & restricted range leave the subspecies vulnerable to shifts in environmental conditions.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45925327

October is #BatAppreciationMonth!

In that vein, meet the #GhostBat! The ghost bat preys on large vertebrates including birds, reptiles and other mammals—it is the only Australian bat to do so!

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28522650

Via the Natural History Museum Library, London

New this week! #Entomology enthusiasts can catch up on the first quarter of 2020’s “The Australian Entomologist”. This includes the then-newly described Clicking Ambertail, or 𝘠𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘦 as pictured here.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65083592 via Entomological Society of Queensland.

We’re glad these small marsupials caught Hooker’s eye during this long voyage. They have a small part in a big history.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6957568

Contributed to BHL by MBLWHOI

Joseph Dalton Hooker took charge of collecting specimens; the son of a famous botanist, William J. Hooker, Joseph himself was no slouch, founding the field of geographical botany. From this voyage, Hooker also authored Flora Antarctica. He was later the director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

This image is from “The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843". Before the Ross expedition reached the Antarctic they made their way to Australia, picking up specimens for study as they did so.

This #MarsupialMonday we bring you a trio of critters: the fat-tailed dunnart, the yellow-footed antechinus and the red-tailed phascogale.

Happy #WorldCassowaryDay! We love these images of the Southern cassowary! This Cassowary is now considered a single species, but as you can see in these portraits from “A monograph of the genus Casuarius”, there can be a lot of variation.

➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15139771

This #ThreatenedThursday meet the Bizart River shark. This rare shark is found in northern Australia and New Guinea. A river shark, it can also be found in marine waters near the shore.

From Müller and Henle’s Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6353138

We’re just flying by with a #SquirrelGlider today!

“The Naturalist’s Library” is always worth consulting. This little cutie was drawn by William Dicke and engraved by W. H. Lizars.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57254827

Contributed to BHL by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

New this week!

The 1873 “Report of the Secretary for Agriculture” is available now! Included in the report are these #insect illustrations—budding entomologists feast your eyes!

Explore this volume here: www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65063623

via the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

This #MarsupialMonday we’re pleased to present the Tasmanian #pademelon!

Who could resist a mini macropod? The Tasmanian pademelon is abundant across Tas, but no longer found on the mainland.

From Gould’s “A monograph of the Macropodidae” via Museums Vic

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42174455

We love these images from “Antarctic days; sketches of the homely side of polar life, by two of Shackleton’s men”. James Murray & George Marston give a whimsical view of their voyage, including their encounters with biodiversity along the way.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42625854

This #Baturday we’re reflecting on the future of the Christmas Island flying fox. The Guardian recently reported on scientists' fears that this bat could be “one cyclone away from extinction.” These bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24862810

We’re delighted by this image of the “Lophius monopterygius” or the “Depressed Blackfish Lophius” (actually the coffin ray) from Shaw's "Naturalist's Miscellany". This illustration, though simple, is a plausible rendering of this electric ray!

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/44515801

This #ThreatenedThursday we’re highlighting another small creature first described by Baldwin Spencer: the #kowari. The kowari is a small marsupial of the gibber desert. Its distinguishing feature is its tail, with those black hairs at the end. Stylish!

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57973468

Want to know what ails your lemon tree? Consult mycologist Daniel McAlpine’s “Fungus diseases of citrus trees in Australia, and their treatment”! These illustrations are by fellow mycologist C. C. Brittlebank, who later became McAlpine’s assistant.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59532240

New this week! We’ve recently uploaded the “Handbook of forest trees for Victorian foresters”. The work of botanist Alfred Ewart, this book had an intended audience of forest officers & students of botany and forestry.

Explore the volume here:

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65053311

This #MarsupialMonday we’d like to highlight the #Numbat, A carnivore, this critter sports great stripes and a great tail. Previously widespread, the numbat now lives only in small pockets: fewer than 1000 are left in the wild.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12865657 via NHM Library, London

It’s #WorldBilbyDay! We love the Greater Bilby. They are skilled diggers, and make long tunnel systems: they deserve engineering degrees for their work! (Not coincidentally, they are another marsupial that sports a backwards pouch, to keep the dirt out…)

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49738075

Did someone say bugs 🐜 ?

These illustrations by entomologist William Joseph Rainbow come from the Records of the Australian Museum. They present the Goliath Stick Insect and the Children’s stick insect.

➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6951790
➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6951794

This #FloralFriday let us present you this #bouquet from the “Jardin de la Malmaison”. This selection includes the botanical work of Pierre Joseph Redouté, who served Marie Antoinette and then Empress Josephine: artistic and political skills both on point!

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43518521

I've been managing BHL's #Bluesky account for 4 months now. It's an honour to share such beautiful & significant content, particularly at this critical time. BHL's future is uncertain, but hopeful. Follow along @biodivlibrary.bsky.social & on the #BHLblog: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/tag/transition

This #ThreatenedThursday we’re admiring the greater bilby—look at those ears! This creature used to have a very wide range; now it is restricted to arid regions of Australia. Bilbies are omnivorous, & eat all manner of insects, seeds, fruit & larvae.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19555660

This week we’re digitising the Bulletin of the Australian Society for Limnology, which is not available anywhere online. It’ll soon be freely accessible on @biodivlibrary.bsky.social. Stay tuned… #ILoveBHL #Freshwater #Biodiversity