Rhinogradentia
Encyclopedia
The Rhinogradentia are a fictitious mammal
order
documented by the equally fictitious German
naturalist Harald Stümpke. The order's most remarkable characteristic was the nasorium, an organ derived from the ancestral species' nose
, which had variously evolved to fulfil every conceivable function.
Both the animals and the scientist were ostensibly creations of Gerolf Steiner
, a zoology
professor at the University of Karlsruhe, who drew his inspiration from a poem by Christian Morgenstern
. A mock taxidermy
of a certain snouter can be seen at the Musée zoologique de la ville de Strasbourg.
acting over millions of years in the remote Hi-yi-yi
islands in the Pacific Ocean
. All the 14 families
and 189 known Snouter species descended from a small shrew
-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.
Many Rhinogrades used their nose for locomotion, for example the shrew
-like Hopsorrhinus aureus, whose nasorium was used for jumping, and Otopteryx, which flew backwards by flapping its ears and used its nose as a rudder
. Other species included the fierce Tyrannonasus imperator and the shaggy Mammontops.
explorer Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist when he landed on the island trying to escape spies in WW2. Unfortunately, as a consequence of atomic bomb testing, the islands suddenly sank into the ocean in the late 1950s. Thus perished all traces of the snouters, their unique ecosystem
, and all the world's specialists on that intriguing subject — who happened to be holding their congress there at the time.
Although the first widely available report on these creatures was Stümpke's book (1957), an early reference to them is found in Christian Morgenstern
's poem Das Nasobem
("The Nasobame", 1905).. The Great Morgenstern's Nasobame (Nasobema lyricum), a dog-size animal that walked on four snout
s, was named in the poet's honor.
of Rhinogrades:
I.M. Kashkina (2004) and her colleague V.V. Bukashkina (2004) describe two additional marine genera: Dendronasus and an as yet unnamed parasitic taxon.
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
documented by the equally fictitious German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
naturalist Harald Stümpke. The order's most remarkable characteristic was the nasorium, an organ derived from the ancestral species' nose
Nose
Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes through the pharynx, shared with the...
, which had variously evolved to fulfil every conceivable function.
Both the animals and the scientist were ostensibly creations of Gerolf Steiner
Gerolf Steiner
Gerolf Steiner was a German zoologist.He was born on March 23, 1908 in Strasbourg, and occupied the chair of zoology at the University of Karlsruhe from 1962 to 1973. He is famous worldwide for a little book on the anatomy and habits of the Rhinogradentia, a fictitious order of mammals whose nose...
, a zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
professor at the University of Karlsruhe, who drew his inspiration from a poem by Christian Morgenstern
Christian Morgenstern
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
. A mock taxidermy
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
of a certain snouter can be seen at the Musée zoologique de la ville de Strasbourg.
Description
According to the book, the order's remarkable variety was the natural outcome of evolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
acting over millions of years in the remote Hi-yi-yi
Hi-yi-yi
Hi-yi-yi was a fictitious small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean supposedly destroyed by the secret nuclear test of the US military in the 1950s...
islands in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. All the 14 families
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
and 189 known Snouter species descended from a small shrew
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
-like animal, which gradually evolved and diversified to fill most of the ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
niches in the archipelago — from tiny worm-like beings to large herbivores and predators.
Many Rhinogrades used their nose for locomotion, for example the shrew
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
-like Hopsorrhinus aureus, whose nasorium was used for jumping, and Otopteryx, which flew backwards by flapping its ears and used its nose as a rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
. Other species included the fierce Tyrannonasus imperator and the shaggy Mammontops.
Discovery
According to Stümpke's account, the snouters were discovered on the main island of Hiddudify in 1941 by the SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
explorer Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist when he landed on the island trying to escape spies in WW2. Unfortunately, as a consequence of atomic bomb testing, the islands suddenly sank into the ocean in the late 1950s. Thus perished all traces of the snouters, their unique ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
, and all the world's specialists on that intriguing subject — who happened to be holding their congress there at the time.
Although the first widely available report on these creatures was Stümpke's book (1957), an early reference to them is found in Christian Morgenstern
Christian Morgenstern
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
's poem Das Nasobem
The Nasobame
Das Nasobēm, usually translated into English as The Nasobame, is a short nonsense poem by German writer Christian Morgenstern...
("The Nasobame", 1905).. The Great Morgenstern's Nasobame (Nasobema lyricum), a dog-size animal that walked on four snout
Snout
The snout, or muzzle, is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.-Terminology:The term "muzzle", used as a noun, can be ambiguous...
s, was named in the poet's honor.
Genera
Stümpke describes the following generaGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of Rhinogrades:
| Archirrhinos | Rhinolimacius | Emunctator | Dulcicauda | |
| Columnifax | Rhinotaenia | Rhinosiphonia | Rhinostentor | |
| Rhinotalpa | Enterorrhinus | Holorrhinus | Remanonasus | |
| Phyllohoppla | Hopsorrhinus | Mercatorrhinus | Otopteryx | |
| Orchidiopsis | Liliopsis | Nasobema | Stella | |
| Tyrannonasus | Eledonopsis | Hexanthus | Cephalanthus | |
| Mammontops | Phinochilopus | Larvanasus | Rhizoidonasus | |
| Nudirhinus | ||||
I.M. Kashkina (2004) and her colleague V.V. Bukashkina (2004) describe two additional marine genera: Dendronasus and an as yet unnamed parasitic taxon.
Real books
- Harald Stümpke [= Gerolf Steiner] (1962): Anatomie et Biologie des Rhinogrades — Un Nouvel Ordre de Mammifères. MassonMasson (publisher)Masson was a French publisher specialised in medical and scientific collections. In 1987, Masson purchased Armand Colin. In turn, it became part of the City Group in 1994...
, France. - Karl D.S. Geeste [= Gerolf Steiner] (1988): Stümpke's Rhinogradentia: Versuch einer Analyse. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany. ISBN 3-437-30597-2.
- Hararuto Shutyunpuke [= Gerolf Steiner] (1997): Bikōri: atarashiku-hakken-sareta-honyūrui-no-kōzō-to-seikatsu. Hakuhinsha, Tokyo. ISBN 4-938706-19-9.
- Massimo Pandolfi ed. (1992): I Rinogradi di Harald Stümpke e la zoologia fantastica. Muzzio.
Real articles
- Les rhinogrades, un canular qui sent la vraie question scientifique à plein nez, article in Le MondeLe MondeLe Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
(11/08/2000). - Kashkina, M.I. [= Ivanova, O.M.] (2004): Dendronasus sp. A new member of the order nose-walkers (Rhinogradentia). Russian Journal of Marine Biology, 30(2):148-149.
- Bukashkina, V.V. [? Isaeva, V.V.] (2004): New parasitic species of colonial Rhinogradentia. Russian Journal of Marine Biology, 30(2):150.
- Isaeva, V.V. (2004): Olga Mikhailovna Ivanova is 90!. Russian Journal of Marine Biology, 30(2):147.
Fictitious books and articles
- E. Petterson-Skämtkvist (1946): Aventyrer pa Haiaiai-öerna. Nyströms Förlag och Bokhandel, Lilleby.
- J. Bromeante De Burlas Y Tonterias (1948): "A systematica dos Rhinogradentes". Bull. Darwin Inst. Hi. volume 2, page 45.