- Rhinogradentia
Rhinogradentia (also known as snouters or Rhinogrades or Nasobames) is a fictitious
mammal order documented by the equally fictitious German naturalistHarald Stümpke . The order's most remarkable characteristic was the "Nasorium", an organ derived from the ancestral species'snose , which had variously evolved to fulfill every conceivable function.Both the animals and the scientist were allegedly creations of
Gerolf Steiner , azoology professor at theUniversity of Karlsruhe . A mock taxidermy of a certain Snouter can be seen at the Musée zoologique inStrasbourg .Description
The order's remarkable variety was the natural outcome of
evolution acting over millions of years in the isolatedHi-yi-yi islands in thePacific Ocean . All the 14 families and 189 known Snouter species descended from a smallshrew -like animal, which gradually evolved and diversified to fill most of the ecological niches in the archipelago — from tiny worm-like beings to large herbivores and predators.Most Rhinogrades used their nose for locomotion, like the
shrew -like "Hopsorrhinus aureus", whose "nasorium" was used for jumping.Discovery
The snouters were discovered on the main island of Hiddudify in 1941 by the Swedish explorer
Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist . Unfortunately, as a consequence ofatomic bomb testing, the islands sank suddenly into the ocean in the late 1950s. Thus perished all traces of the snouters, their uniqueecosystem , and all the world's specialists on that intriguing subject — who happened to be holding their congress there at the time.Although the first scientific report on these creatures came out in 1961, an early reference to them is found in
Christian Morgenstern 's poem "Das Nasobem" ("The Nasobame", 1905). TheGreat Morgenstern's Nasobame ("Nasobema lyricum"), a dog-size animal that walked on foursnout s, was named in his honor.Genera
*Archirrhinos [http://nsrex.hp.infoseek.co.jp/graph/hana_Arch.jpg]
*Rhinolimacius [http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/rgendron/plate03a.gif]
*Emunctator [http://nsrex.hp.infoseek.co.jp/graph/hanasusuri.jpg]
*Dulcicauda [http://vennarecci.free.fr/Rhinogrades/images/Page3/dulcicauda.gif]
*Columnifax [http://science-ouverte.u-strasbg.fr/site/site/site/exclusif/_exclu/exclu_rhino/images/planche6p.gif]
*Rhinotaenia
*Rhinosiphonia
*Rhinostentor
*Rhinotalpa
*Enterorrhinus
*Holorrhinus
*Remanonasus
*Phyllohoppla
*Hopsorrhinus
*Mercatorrhinus
*Otopteryx
*Orchidiopsis
*Liliopsis
*Nasobema
*Stella
*Tyrannonasus
*Eledonopsis
*Hexanthus
*Cephalanthus
*Mammontops
*Phinochilopus
*Larvanasus
*Rhizoidonasus
*NudirhinusReferences
Real books
*
Harald Stümpke , "Anatomie Et Biologie Des Rhinogrades — Un Nouvel Ordre De Mammifères". Masson,France (1962).
* Harald Stümpke, "Bau und Leben der Rhinogradentia". With preface and illustrations byGerolf Steiner . Gustav-Fischer-Verlag, Stuttgart, (1981). ISBN 3-437-30083-0.
* Harald Stümpke, "The Snouters: Form and Life of the Rhinogrades". Translated byLeigh Chadwick . TheUniversity of Chicago Press (1967).
* Hararuto Shutyunpuke: "Bikōri: atarashiku-hakken-sareta-honyūrui-no-kōzō-to-seikatsu". Tōkyō: Hakuhinsha, 1997. ISBN 4-938706-19-9.
*Massimo Pandolfi (ed.): "I Rinogradi di Harald Stümpke e la zoologia fantastica", Muzzio, (1992).
*Christian Morgenstern : "Galgenlieder" (1905).Fictitious books
*E. Petterson-Skämtkvist, "
Aventyrer pa Haiaiai-öerna ". Nyströms Förlag och Bokhandel, Lilleby (1946).
*J. Bromeante De Burlas Y Tonterias . "A systematica dos Rhinogradentes". "Bull. Darwin Inst. Hi." 2: 45 (1948).Real articles
*"Les rhinogrades, un canular qui sent la vraie question scientifique à plein nez", article in
Le Monde (11/08/2000).External links
* [http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/rgendron/Caminalcules.shtml Calminalcules, Snouters, and other unusual creatures]
* [http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/photos/snouters.html Snouters from the Museum of Hoaxes]
* [http://vennarecci.free.fr/Rhinogrades Comprehensive, in French]
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