When I was a young biology undergraduate one book would shape my desire to organise things, and work in museums, more than any other: The Snouters by Harald Stümpke.
The Snouters tells us of the key role island biogeography has in teaching us about evolution. Snouters are animals of remarkable diversity, developing in the remote Hi-yi-yi islands in the Pacific Ocean.
All snouter species descended from a small shrew-like animal, which gradually evolved and diversified – from tiny worm-like beings to large herbivores and predators. Many snouters used their nose for locomotion; Otopteryx volitans flew backwards by flapping its ears and using its nose as a rudder.
Due to an unfortunate seismic event following an atomic weapons test, the entire population – together with the islands and a research centre – was lost.
While the animals are the fictitious creations of Gerolf Steiner, a zoology professor, the science behind the book is not. Taxonomy and systematics – naming and classifying the Earth’s living and fossil biodiversity – underpin all other aspects of biology.
Museums are the repositories and centres of research and teaching of systematics. With currently rapidly increasing extinction, museums are often the only places where species are preserved and available for study.
The Snouters is a reminder that we need museums to understand the world we live in and we need to arm ourselves for future challenges.
Christian Baars is the senior preventive conservator at Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru (National Museum Cardiff)
The Snouters tells us of the key role island biogeography has in teaching us about evolution. Snouters are animals of remarkable diversity, developing in the remote Hi-yi-yi islands in the Pacific Ocean.
All snouter species descended from a small shrew-like animal, which gradually evolved and diversified – from tiny worm-like beings to large herbivores and predators. Many snouters used their nose for locomotion; Otopteryx volitans flew backwards by flapping its ears and using its nose as a rudder.
Due to an unfortunate seismic event following an atomic weapons test, the entire population – together with the islands and a research centre – was lost.
While the animals are the fictitious creations of Gerolf Steiner, a zoology professor, the science behind the book is not. Taxonomy and systematics – naming and classifying the Earth’s living and fossil biodiversity – underpin all other aspects of biology.
Museums are the repositories and centres of research and teaching of systematics. With currently rapidly increasing extinction, museums are often the only places where species are preserved and available for study.
The Snouters is a reminder that we need museums to understand the world we live in and we need to arm ourselves for future challenges.
Christian Baars is the senior preventive conservator at Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru (National Museum Cardiff)
