The Oxford Dodo. Part 1: the museum history of the Tradescant Dodo: ownership,displays and audience

The Dodo Raphus cucullatus, a giant flightless pigeon endemic to Mauritius, became extinct in the late seventeenth century, and so rapid was the birds’ disappearance, that by the beginning of the nineteenth century even its very existence was questioned. Only four specimens were then recorded in European museums, of which the most famous was the Tradescant or Oxford Dodo, now in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It comprised the head and one foot, and unique soft tissue in the form of skin and traces of feathers. The history of this specimen is reviewed, including the still unresolved question of how it came to Britain, and we provide evidence to show that it was stuffed but probably never mounted. The changes of ownership, and its cataloguing and curation in the different museums are also described, along with its varying roles in entertainment, education and research from the earliest years until the nineteenth century. This is part one of a two-part article; the second deals with the Tradescant Dodo from its dissection in the 1840s until the present day.     

Added credence for a late Dodo extinction date

Considerable controversy surrounds the extinction date for the dodo (Raphus cucullatus), and the last uncontrovertibly confirmed sighting is ascribed to Volkert Evertsz on an islet off Mauritius in 1662. Nevertheless, both Roberts and Solow (2003), using a statistical technique, and Hume et al. (2004 HumeJP, MartillDM, DewdneyC. 2004. Dutch diaries and the demise of the dodo. Nature. 429:6992.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), drawing on Lamotius' hunting diaries (1685–1688), place the extinction date as late as 1690 and 1693, respectively. A well-known account of Benjamin Harry from 1681 seems to have been frequently dismissed as unreliable or anecdotal. Our purpose here is to provide new background information on Harry's scientific credentials that adds considerable credence to his 1681 report and thus adds to the likelihood of a late date for the dodo's demise, in agreement with the 1690 lower bound.     

Chloride channels: An emerging molecular picture

Chloride channels are probably found in every cell, from bacteria to mammals. Their physiological tasks range from cell volume regulation to stabilization of the membrane potential, signal transduction, transepithelial transport and acidification of intracellular organelles. These different functions require the presence of many distinct chloride channels, which are differentially expressed and regulated by various stimuli. These include various intracellular messengers (like calcium and cyclic AMP), pH, extracellular ligands and transmembrane voltage. Three major structural classes of chloride channels are known to date, but there may be others not yet identified. After an overview of the general functions of chloride channels, this review will focus on these cloned chloride channels: the CLC chloride channel family, which includes voltage-gated chloride channels, and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR), which performs other functions in addition to being a chloride channel. Finally, a short section deals with GABA and glycine receptors. Diseases resulting from chloride channel defects will be specially emphasized, together with the somewhat limited information about how these proteins work at the molecular level.     

A newly-discovered early depiction of the Dodo (Aves: Columbidae: Raphus cucullatus) by Roelandt Savery,with a note on another previously unnoticed Savery Dodo

Abstract

The aim of this note is to bring to wider attention a painting, entitled The Temptation of Saint Anthony, by Roelandt Savery sold at Sotheby’s London on 7th December 2016. This work of c.1611–1613 includes a depiction of the head of a dodo (Raphus cucullatus), here argued to be probably his earliest depiction of the dodo and apparently one based upon a preserved specimen. The date of the other putatively early Savery dodo (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Berlin, Inv. No. 717a), cited as 1611 by some, is also discussed, and shown to be almost certainly a late work. In addition, another depiction of the dodo by Savery, in the National Museum of Warsaw, also previously unnoticed in the ornithological literature, is documented.