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ERNST HAECKEL: ART FORMS IN NATURE
ASCIDIGE: Seescheiden (Chordata: Ascidiacea)
Haeckel describes the wide variety of sea-squirts as "usually living alone as single organisms, they sometimes form colonies of mushroom-like bodies clustered around a central core or collective mouth." The single squirt from Sumatra (top left) resembles a pincushion: its mouth, the red-flanged central figure, is segmented into four lips with many wart-like sacs. The translucent shells or "tunics" of these creatures is composed of cellulose, a rarity in the animal kingdom. Their intense coloration and surface glisten has resulted in one of Haeckel's most decorative illustrations, resembling a collection of Russian Easter eggs or Faberge enamels.
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Curated by Ann Weissmann, Exhibitions Curator MBLWHOI Library
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