Collared peccary or musk hog. Engraving created in 1700s for renowned work on mammals by German naturalist, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber, the multi-volume 'Die Saugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen' ('The Mammals in Accordance with Illustrations of Nature with Descriptions'), published from 1775 to 1792. Collectively, the mammals featured by Schreber in this work have come to be known as 'Schreber's Fantastic Beasts'. The engraving was later coloured by hand.
Hand-coloured antique engraving. It depicts a collared peccary or musk hog and was created by an unknown artist for a renowned work on mammals by the German naturalist, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (1739-1810). Peccaries, also called musk hogs because of a scent gland that gives off a strong musky odour, and javelin or javelina because of their spear-shaped canine teeth, are any of the three species of pig-like mammal found in the southern deserts of the United States and southward through the Amazon basin to Patagonia. Closely resembling the wild pig, the peccary has dark coarse hair and a large head with circular snout. The collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), distinguished by a pale stripe around the neck, is the smallest (less than three feet or one metre long) and the most common. Johan Christian Daniel Von Schreber (often styled von Schreber) studied in Germany and Sweden and worked as a medical doctor before beginning his most famous work, his multi-volume 'Die Saugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen' ('The Mammals in Accordance with Illustrations of Nature with Descriptions'), published from 1775 to 1792. It was illustrated by about 800 plates of the different mammals. The hand coloured engraving of a collared peccary was Plate CCCXXV (325) in a Schreber volume printed c. 1785. Many of the animals were being given scientific names for the first time, according to the binomial system pioneered by the Swedish zoologist, Carl Linnaeus. It is likely that none of the artists responsible had actually seen any of the exotic animals they drew, relying instead on descriptions from explorers. Not surprisingly, many of the pictures are quite a long way from zoological reality. Collectively, they have come to be known as 'Schreber's Fantastic Beasts'.
Size: 7505px × 9580px
Location: In natural habitat
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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