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Mollusca Collection

Background imageMollusca Collection: Giant octopus

Giant octopus
Plate 26 from Histoire naturelle des Mollusques by Count Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon, 1805

Background imageMollusca Collection: Extinct marine reptiles

Extinct marine reptiles
Sheet 1 of a series of posters called Extinct Animals by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins c. 1862. This collection of marine reptiles lived during the Jurassic period between 200

Background imageMollusca Collection: Asteroceras, fossil ammonite

Asteroceras, fossil ammonite
A 16 cm diameter specimen of the Jurassic ammonite Asteroceras from the Lower Jurassic of Dorset, England

Background imageMollusca Collection: Octopus

Octopus
Watercolour 401 by the Port Jackson Painter, from the Watling Collection

Background imageMollusca Collection: Janthina violacea, violet snail

Janthina violacea, violet snail
Watercolour 398 by Thomas Watling, entitled Boala, from the Watling Collection

Background imageMollusca Collection: Snail teeth

Snail teeth

Background imageMollusca Collection: Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and library at Soho Square

Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and library at Soho Square
Sir Joseph Banks herbarium and part library in his house at 32 Soho Square, London. It remained there until 1827 when it was moved to the British Museum at Montagu House

Background imageMollusca Collection: Argonauta hians, brown paper nautilus

Argonauta hians, brown paper nautilus
A pair of brown paper nautilus (Argonauta hians). This delicate-shelled cephalopod is distributed in warm seas globally

Background imageMollusca Collection: Nautilus pompilius, common nautilus

Nautilus pompilius, common nautilus
A section through a common nautilus (Nautilus pompiius) showing the internal divisions into chambers and siphuncles

Background imageMollusca Collection: Glaucus atlanticus, blue sea slug

Glaucus atlanticus, blue sea slug
Ff. 23 Vol 3. Watercolour painting by Sydney Parkinson made during Captain James Cooks first voyage to explore the southern continent 1768-1771

Background imageMollusca Collection: Belemnotheutis antiquus, squid

Belemnotheutis antiquus, squid
A well-preserved Upper Jurassic squid aged 160 million years. This specimen originates from Christian Malford, Wiltshire

Background imageMollusca Collection: Seven squid and octopuses

Seven squid and octopuses
Tableau 2 from Albertus Sebas Thesaurus, Vol 3, 1759

Background imageMollusca Collection: Kraken attacking a fishing boat off the coast of Angola

Kraken attacking a fishing boat off the coast of Angola
Kraken or giant cuttlefish attacking a fishing boat off the coast of Angola. After a description by Pierre Denys de Montfort in his Natural History of the Mollusca

Background imageMollusca Collection: Ommastrephes sagittatus, squid

Ommastrephes sagittatus, squid
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Pleuroploca trapezium, trapezium horse conch

Pleuroploca trapezium, trapezium horse conch
A pair of trapezium horse conch (Pleuroploca trapezium). This marine gastropod originates from the Indo-Pacific

Background imageMollusca Collection: Argonauta argo (female), octopus

Argonauta argo (female), octopus
A glass model of an octopus, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Thatcheria mirabilis, Japanese wonder shell

Thatcheria mirabilis, Japanese wonder shell
This spectacularly spiralling shellfish is a member of the Turrid family who catch their prey by harpooning them with a modified radula (tooth) and poisoning them with a nerve toxin

Background imageMollusca Collection: Hydatina physis, rose-petal bubble shell

Hydatina physis, rose-petal bubble shell
Watercolour 399 by the Port Jackson Painter, entitled Kallee dere, from the Watling Collection

Background imageMollusca Collection: Dr Karl Jordan (1875-1972)

Dr Karl Jordan (1875-1972)
Curator of entomology at Walter Rothschilds Zoological Museum at Tring from 1893, beyond Rothschilds death and up to the transition to the Natural History Museum at Tring in 1938

Background imageMollusca Collection: Emma Rothschild (1844-1935)

Emma Rothschild (1844-1935)
Mother of Tring Museum founder Walter Rothschild

Background imageMollusca Collection: Emu, rheas and kangaroos at Tring Park

Emu, rheas and kangaroos at Tring Park
Live animals collected by Walter Rothschild in the grounds of Tring Park, with keeper Mr Marcham, 1890 Date: 1890

Background imageMollusca Collection: Walter Rothschild Bird skin collection, 1933

Walter Rothschild Bird skin collection, 1933
Packed for shipping. The majority of Rothschilds (280, 000 items) bird skin collection was sold the AMNH in New York after he ran into financial difficulties

Background imageMollusca Collection: Pecten sp. scallop

Pecten sp. scallop
A fossil scallop from the Corallian Crag of Suffolk, England. Scallop shells are made up of two hinged plates and are a genus of bivalve mollusc

Background imageMollusca Collection: Fossil shells of the Miocene Tertiary Period

Fossil shells of the Miocene Tertiary Period
Plate II from Principles of Geology, being an attempt to explain the former changes of the Earths surface. Vol. 3 1832-33 by Charles Lyell (1797-1875)

Background imageMollusca Collection: Plate 77 from the John Reeves Collection

Plate 77 from the John Reeves Collection
John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

Background imageMollusca Collection: Strombus gigas, queen conch

Strombus gigas, queen conch
Plate 2. Watercolour by Jean Charles Chenu from his Illustrations Conchyliologiques, part 17 (1843)

Background imageMollusca Collection: Tridacna gigas, giant clam

Tridacna gigas, giant clam
A pair of giant clam (Tridacna gigas). This endangered species is the largest living molluscs and can reach sizes of over 1m

Background imageMollusca Collection: Aptyxiella portlandica (Sowerby), Portland screwstone

Aptyxiella portlandica (Sowerby), Portland screwstone
A gastropod steinkern or internal cast of a Portland screwstone (Aptyxiella portlandica) from the Jurassic Portland Stone, Top Roach, Portland

Background imageMollusca Collection: Nipponites mirabilis, ammonite

Nipponites mirabilis, ammonite
This ammonite from the Upper Cretaceous of Japan displays a loose, tangled coil

Background imageMollusca Collection: Hippurites radiosus, rudist mollusc shell

Hippurites radiosus, rudist mollusc shell
Rudist mollusc shells are elongated molluscs and were also reef builders. Specimen dates from the Late Cretaceous, Des Moulins, Charente, France

Background imageMollusca Collection: Oyster shell with pearl

Oyster shell with pearl
Oyster is a name given to a group of molluscs which can be found on sea beds, often in coastal waters. The pearl, a smooth spherical object can form inside its shell

Background imageMollusca Collection: Five bivalve fossils

Five bivalve fossils
(Top) Chlamys fibrosa; (Centre left) Chlamys splendens; (Centre right) Perampliata ampliata; (Lower left) Mytilus ungulatus; (Lower right) Trigonia reticulata

Background imageMollusca Collection: Entomology, W. Rothschild Zoological Museum

Entomology, W. Rothschild Zoological Museum
The Museum was bequeathed to the Natural History Museum following Rothschilds death in 1937, along with its unique collections of preserved animals

Background imageMollusca Collection: Walter Rothschild Bird skin collection, 1932

Walter Rothschild Bird skin collection, 1932
Packed for shipping. The majority of Rothschilds (280, 000 items) bird skin collection was sold the AMNH in New York after he ran into financial difficulties

Background imageMollusca Collection: Alfred Newton

Alfred Newton (1829-1907), Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University in the late 19th Century. Newton was an expert ornithologist and tutored Walter Rothschild in anatomy

Background imageMollusca Collection: Tridacna maxima R�g, 1798, giant clam

Tridacna maxima R�g, 1798, giant clam
Plate 76 from a bound volume of illustrations used for Lamarcks Genera of shells. Watercolour and graphite on paper, c. 1820 by Anna Children (became Atkins) (1799-1871) Date: 1820

Background imageMollusca Collection: Nautilus sp

Nautilus sp
Alice Bolingbroke Woodward (1862-1951). Watercolour on paper. Alice Woodward was taught science and illustration by her father Henry Woodward

Background imageMollusca Collection: Hans Sloanes nautilus shell

Hans Sloanes nautilus shell
Sir Hans Sloane is perhaps the most important collector ever. His huge collection forms the core of both the British Museum and the Natural History Museum

Background imageMollusca Collection: Various Mollusca and Crustacea species

Various Mollusca and Crustacea species
Watercolour from the Thomas Hardwicke Collection, c.1820 Date: circa 1820

Background imageMollusca Collection: Eledone cirrhosa, Curled Octopus

Eledone cirrhosa, Curled Octopus
Illustration from the Thomas Hardwicke Collection, marked Sepia octopodia

Background imageMollusca Collection: Conus and Epitonium shells

Conus and Epitonium shells
Watercolour by Johann Gustav Hoch, c. 1771. Clockwise from top left: Conus ammiralis, Admiral cone; Conus episcopus, Episcopal or bishop cone; Conus imperialis, Imperial cone; Conus virgo

Background imageMollusca Collection: Buccinum harpa

Buccinum harpa
Watercolour by J. Hayes from Mollusca and Radiata of India, The Thomas Hardwicke Collection, c.1820 Date: circa 1820

Background imageMollusca Collection: Verania sicula, squid

Verania sicula, squid
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Tremoctopus velifer, octopus

Tremoctopus velifer, octopus
A glass model of an octopus, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Sepioteuthis sicula. jpg

Sepioteuthis sicula. jpg
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Sepiola rondeletii, squid

Sepiola rondeletii, squid
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Sepia officinalis, squid

Sepia officinalis, squid
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London

Background imageMollusca Collection: Sepia elegans, squid

Sepia elegans, squid
A glass model of a squid, created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the late nineteenth century and held at the Natural History Museum, London



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