Science Art: Holothuria Pentactes, Lin. – die Rippenblasse, from from Gemeinnüzzige Naturgeschichte des Thierreichs (A Natural History of the Animal Kingdom).

2 May 2021 grant Featured, Science Art 0

Scientific illustration of Holothuria pentactes, a sea cucumber better known as Cucumaria frondosa, which is a funnier name the more you say it.
Scientific illustration of Holothuria pentactes, a sea cucumber better known as Cucumaria frondosa, which is a funnier name the more you say it.

That’s the funniest lookin’ carrot I’ve ever seen. A real cuckoo-maria. In fact, that’s its name now – Cucumaria frondosa is the scientific name, and orange-footed sea cucumber is the common name, and I can’t decide which one sounds funnier. Yes, it’s not a carrot – it’s an echinoderm. Like a sea urchin, only squishier… and kind of pretty in its own way.

This image came from the “Wurms” volume, number 9, of Gemeinnüzzige Naturgeschichte des Thierreichs, written by late-18th-century naturalist Georg Heinrich Borowski, and illustrated by D.F. Sotzmann.

You can browse through all 10 volumes here, at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.