''The Mammals of Australia'' is a three-volume work written and published by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

between 1845–63. It contains 182 illustrations by the author and its artist H. C. Richter. It was intended to be a complete survey of the novel species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, such as the

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

s, discovered in the colonies of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Author

The author, John Gould, best known for '' The Birds of Australia'' and other major works of ornithology, visited Australia in 1838. In his introduction, Gould says:

It was not until I arrived in the country, and found myself surrounded by objects as strange as if I had been transported to another planet, that I conceived the idea of devoting a portion of my attention to the mammalian class of its extraordinary fauna.Hetherington, M
John Gould's Birds of Australia
in Peter Cochrane ed. Remarkable Occurrences: The National Library of Australia’s First 100 Years, 1901–2001. National Library of Australia

During his short stay he made observations on the natural history and employed his skills as a

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

to obtain specimens.

First survey

The publication of this major work by Gould followed his ''A Monograph of the Macropodidae or Family of Kangaroos'' in 1841. This work was the first comprehensive survey of Australian mammals, and gave an account of their classification and description. Gould also included the indigenous names for the species from the lists he made while in Australia. He used these names to make requests of the local peoples for his specimens, and recorded the regions where the names were used. This conserved a number of

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s, such as

dibbler Dibbler (''Parantechinus apicalis'') is an endangered species of marsupial. It is an inhabitant of the southwest mainland of Western Australia and some offshore islands. It is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia, and the only member of the g ...

(''Parantechinus apicalis''), which were later recommended by authorities.

Artwork

The large

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s reproduced the artwork of Richter, after the drawings and watercolours made in Australia by Gould and his wife,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. (The contribution by Elizabeth Gould was uncredited). These were hand-coloured by a group of artists, led by Gabriel Bayfield, that required the completion of 26,572 plates. The illustrations produced during their visit to Australia were supplemented by the preserved specimens returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and detailed the characteristics of the species. These illustrations have become iconic images of the

mammals of Australia The mammals of Australia have a rich fossil history, as well as a variety of extant mammalian species, dominated by the marsupials, but also including monotremes and placentals. The marsupials evolved to fill specific ecological niches, and in man ...

. Among the best known of the illustrations from the work are the two of ''

Thylacinus cynocephalus The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...

'' (Tasmanian tiger), copied since its publication and the most frequently reproduced, made more recognizable by

Cascade Brewery Cascade Brewery is a brewery established in 1824 in South Hobart, Tasmania and is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia. As well as beer, the site also produces a range of non-alcoholic products. It is home to a function cen ...

's appropriation for its label in 1987. The government of Tasmania published a monochromatic reproduction of the same image in 1934, the author

Louisa Anne Meredith Louisa Anne Meredith (20 July 1812 – 21 October 1895), also known as Louisa Anne Twamley, was an Anglo/Australian writer, illustratorSally O'Neill,, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 239–24 ...

also copied it for ''Tasmanian Friends and Foes'' (1881).

Subscription format

''The Mammals of Australia'' was published by subscription in the format Imperial Folio; 13 parts in three volumes were issued from 1845 until 1863. To these the author added ''An Introduction to The Mammals of Australia'' (1863) in a separate work. This provided corrections and updates, a new preface, introduction, and a list of the mammals of the three volumes. The first two volumes were complete surveys of orders 'Marsupiata' (

s), and, with

Rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

ia in the third, it formed the sum of known mammalian species of Australia. With the addition of those contained in the later ''Introduction'' the total of species described reached 166. The same work notes the exclusion of marine mammals such as whales from the volumes, but reprints a manuscript by

Charles Coxen Charles Coxen (20 April 1809 – 17 May 1876) was a naturalist and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was a brother-in-law of John Gould who had married his sister Elizabeth. Early ...

on the

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

. Beyond the scientific value of this comprehensive survey, the document is cited in reference to its subject's conservation. Some of the species included in the work, such as ''

Onychogalea lunata The crescent nail-tail wallaby, also known as the worong (''Onychogalea lunata''), was a small species of marsupial that grazed on grasses in the scrub and woodlands of southwestern and central Australia. They were common in Western Australia bef ...

'' (crescent nailtail wallaby), have since succumbed to changes in land use since European colonisation. The work was received with acclaim, but the high cost of production, especially of the coloured plates, reduced its accessibility. The original listed price was £41 for the complete set of volumes. The public curiosity for the unique fauna of Australia was met by this handsomely illustrated and comprehensive survey, and it spawned imitations in Australia. The curator of the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

Gerard Krefft Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 19 February 1881), a talented artist and draughtsman, and the Curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861-1874), was one of Australia's first and most influential zoologists and ...

, produced the more affordable ''The Mammals of Australia'' (1871);Krefft, G. 1871. The Mammals of Australia, illustrated by Miss Harriet Scott, and Mrs Helena Forde, for the Council of Education; with a short account of all the species hitherto described. Sydney : T. Richards, Govt. Printer 51 pp. 16 pls intended for educational purposes and influenced by Gould's illustrations. Gracius Broinowski's abandoned work, ''Birds and Mammals of Australia'' (1884), so closely imitated the plates that an injunction was threatened by its publisher.

References

External links

''Mammals of Australia''
/ National Library of Australia collection copy of the published work
National Library of Australia collection copy of key plates (or pattern plates)
- digitised
''Introduction to The Mammals of Australia''
/ National Library of Australia collection copy {{DEFAULTSORT:Mammals of Australia Mammalogical literature Books about Australian natural history 1840s books 1850s books 1860s books