Article ID: CBB321558556

Pranked by Audubon: Constantine S. Rafinesque's description of John James Audubon's imaginary Kentucky mammals (2016)

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The North American naturalist Constantine S. Rafinesque spent much of the year 1818 engaged in a solo journey down the Ohio River Valley to explore parts of what was then the western United States. Along the way, he visited a number of fellow naturalists, and he spent more than a week at the Henderson, Kentucky, home of artist and ornithologist John James Audubon. During the succeeding two years, Rafinesque published descriptions of new species that resulted from his expedition, including eleven species of fishes that eventually proved to have been invented by Audubon as a prank on the credulous naturalist. Less well known are a number of “wild rats” described by Rafinesque that include one recognized species (Musculus leucopus) and ten other, imaginary “species” fabricated by Audubon (Gerbillus leonurus, G. megalops, Spalax trivittata, Cricetus fasciatus, Sorex cerulescens, S. melanotis, Musculus nigricans, Lemmus albovittatus, L. talpoides, Sciurus ruber). Rafinesque's unpublished sketches of these anim...

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Authors & Contributors
Boewe, Charles E.
Van Neste, Aaron
Elisa Dalla Longa
Andrea Gambarelli
Mauro Mandrioli
Woodman, Neal
Concepts
Naturalists
Zoology
Biographies
Natural history
Scientific illustration
Mammalogy
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century, early
17th century
Places
North America
United States
Italy
Philadelphia, PA
London (England)
Americas
Institutions
American Museum of Natural History, New York
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