Wednesday, January 05, 2011

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: WHAT WAS THIS MOTH DOING IN BRAZIL?

A friend gave me a box with this moth in it for Christmas, which she bought at her uncle`s antique-type shop in Macclesfield.

On top of the box is written in neat, Victorian-era-type black handwriting the words: OTHERIS SCHBELLUM BRASIL QUENSTA. CATERINA NOV in capitals, thus. When I typed in `OTHERIS SCHBELLUM BRASIL` into Google, I came up with nothing. When I typed in OTHERIS SCHBELLUM I came up with several hits, including one that clearly showed my specimen was long faded. The moth should have a lower wing consisting of a bright orange and black zig-zag stripe, and an upper wing of a dull brown. However, it originates from only one country: Ecuador.

However, there is a faint stripe on my moth that is slightly different in form from the BOLD Systems Taxonomy Browser website (1) image of this moth. This website shows a fairly clear diagonal line whereas my specimen`s line is not so straight. If anyone can enlighten us as to whether or not there is anything significant about these discrepancies please can they let me know?

GLOBAL TOP TEN FOR 2010 FROM CFZ PRESS AND FORTEAN WORDS

1. Monsters of Texas by Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern
2. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman
3. UFO Down by Andy Roberts
4. Tetrapod Zoology Book One by Darren Naish
5. Haunted Skies Volume One by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway
6. Mystery Animals of The British Isles: Kent by Neil Arnold
7. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Karl Shuker
8. Monster! by Neil Arnold
9. Extraordinary Animals Revisited by Karl Shuker
10. Mystery Animals of Ireland by Gary Cunniungham and Ronan Coghlan

AND HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN?

Richard Freeman, one of my dearest friends and a collabarateur for fifteen years, was 40 yesterday. Enjoy it, mate! I cannot think of a picture that sums him up more than this 2002 publicity shot, which was taken for a spoof article in Tropical Fish magazine, but which the late and semi-lamented Simon W refused to use....

GET WELL SOON, MATE


Carl Portman is very ill. The thoughts and prayers of everyone here at the CFZ are with him.