This #ThreatenedThursday meet the Bizart River shark. This rare shark is found in northern Australia and New Guinea. A river shark, it can also be found in marine waters near the shore. From Müller and Henle’s Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6353138

We’re just flying by with a #SquirrelGlider today! “The Naturalist’s Library” is always worth consulting. This little cutie was drawn by William Dicke and engraved by W. H. Lizars. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57254827 Contributed to BHL by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

New this week! The 1873 “Report of the Secretary for Agriculture” is available now! Included in the report are these #insect illustrations—budding entomologists feast your eyes! Explore this volume here: www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65063623 via the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

This #MarsupialMonday we’re pleased to present the Tasmanian #pademelon! Who could resist a mini macropod? The Tasmanian pademelon is abundant across Tas, but no longer found on the mainland. From Gould’s “A monograph of the Macropodidae” via Museums Vic www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42174455

We love these images from “Antarctic days; sketches of the homely side of polar life, by two of Shackleton’s men”. James Murray & George Marston give a whimsical view of their voyage, including their encounters with biodiversity along the way. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42625854

This #Baturday we’re reflecting on the future of the Christmas Island flying fox. The Guardian recently reported on scientists' fears that this bat could be “one cyclone away from extinction.” These bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24862810

We’re delighted by this image of the “Lophius monopterygius” or the “Depressed Blackfish Lophius” (actually the coffin ray) from Shaw's "Naturalist's Miscellany". This illustration, though simple, is a plausible rendering of this electric ray! www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/44515801

This #ThreatenedThursday we’re highlighting another small creature first described by Baldwin Spencer: the #kowari. The kowari is a small marsupial of the gibber desert. Its distinguishing feature is its tail, with those black hairs at the end. Stylish! www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57973468

Want to know what ails your lemon tree? Consult mycologist Daniel McAlpine’s “Fungus diseases of citrus trees in Australia, and their treatment”! These illustrations are by fellow mycologist C. C. Brittlebank, who later became McAlpine’s assistant. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59532240

New this week! We’ve recently uploaded the “Handbook of forest trees for Victorian foresters”. The work of botanist Alfred Ewart, this book had an intended audience of forest officers & students of botany and forestry. Explore the volume here: www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65053311

This #MarsupialMonday we’d like to highlight the #Numbat, A carnivore, this critter sports great stripes and a great tail. Previously widespread, the numbat now lives only in small pockets: fewer than 1000 are left in the wild. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12865657 via NHM Library, London

It’s #WorldBilbyDay! We love the Greater Bilby. They are skilled diggers, and make long tunnel systems: they deserve engineering degrees for their work! (Not coincidentally, they are another marsupial that sports a backwards pouch, to keep the dirt out…) www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49738075

Did someone say bugs 🐜 ? These illustrations by entomologist William Joseph Rainbow come from the Records of the Australian Museum. They present the Goliath Stick Insect and the Children’s stick insect. ➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6951790 ➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6951794

This #FloralFriday let us present you this #bouquet from the “Jardin de la Malmaison”. This selection includes the botanical work of Pierre Joseph Redouté, who served Marie Antoinette and then Empress Josephine: artistic and political skills both on point! www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43518521

I've been managing BHL's #Bluesky account for 4 months now. It's an honour to share such beautiful & significant content, particularly at this critical time. BHL's future is uncertain, but hopeful. Follow along @biodivlibrary.bsky.social & on the #BHLblog: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/tag/transition

This #ThreatenedThursday we’re admiring the greater bilby—look at those ears! This creature used to have a very wide range; now it is restricted to arid regions of Australia. Bilbies are omnivorous, & eat all manner of insects, seeds, fruit & larvae. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19555660

This week we’re digitising the Bulletin of the Australian Society for Limnology, which is not available anywhere online. It’ll soon be freely accessible on @biodivlibrary.bsky.social. Stay tuned… #ILoveBHL #Freshwater #Biodiversity

There’s scientifically accurate illustration and then there’s charming. These images are from "A Voyage to New Holland" by William Dampier, published in 1703. We’re glad that he took some time to ensure that these creatures 🐙 were captured for posterity! ➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50441252

Behold! The “Australian Frog”!

Happy #MarsupialMonday! Have you met our little friend, the #SandhillDunnart? Often called a “marsupial mouse” 🐀 the nocturnal dunnart is a carnivorous critter who likes to feed on invertebrates: think ants, spiders, termites, etc. In the rare periods when food is scarce, they can enter torpor.

Today is #ThreatenedSpeciesDay, which marks the anniversary of the death of the last #thylacine in Hobart zoo in 1936. Their part in the record of Australian culture is long: there are examples of rock art that depict the marsupial.

Happy Father’s Day! It is well known that penguins 🐧 make for doting dads, and the smallest species, the little penguin is no exception! Described by Australian Geographic as “only a tad bigger than a bowling pin”. In metric that's about 30 centimetres tall, with an average weight of 1.5 kilograms.

Like many other admirers we were chuffed when the #rakali was named the most underrated Australian animal last month. Of course, we rate it! This illustration by Harriet Scott & Helena Forde (aka the Scott sisters) from Krefft’s “The Mammals of Australia”.

🍐 New on the blog: BHL Transition Update #5. 🍪 Thank you for the support & ideas in response to our Call for Support. 🌍 Next up: guiding principles, long-term sustainability & our #ILoveBHL public fundraising campaign. Read more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/09/tran... #BHLTransition

This #FloralFriday enjoy a 🌸 bouquet 🌸 from “Zoology and botany of New Holland and the isles adjacent” by George Shaw, James Edward Smith and #JamesSowerby in 1794.

The #MountainPygmyPossum was first known only through the fossil record: some skull & jaw bones were found in 1895. Scientists believed the species must be extinct until 1966 when a living mountain pygmy possum was found. That’s a pretty secretive life!

3 September marks the birthday of British #entomologist & illustrator John Curtis (1971-1862)! His multi-volume British Entomology appears between 1824 and 1839 in 192 instalments. ➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53942633 .

We love Sarah Stone’s illustrations in John White’s 1790 “Journal of a voyage to New South Wales”. White was the surgeon-general of NSW, as well as a botanical collector. White's time in NSW was brief—he was not a fan! Through this volume Stone gives early renderings of Australian flora and fauna.

This #MarsupialMonday we’re marking the beginning of #SaveTheKoalaMonth! The first known scientific illustration of the #Koala—or “koalo, or New Holland Sloth” comes from George Perry’s 1810 “Arcana, or, The museum of natural history”.

Happy #WattleDay! It’s not just the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere, but it’s also a day to especially celebrate Australia’s more than 1000 species of acacia. We’ve known #wattle makes for a great ambassador for a long time—and it certainly travelled around the world quickly!

We love a larger-than-life project, and “The Naturalist’s Companion containing drawings with suitable descriptions of a vast variety of Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Serpent and Insects” by Kenelm Henry Digby certainly qualifies!

Are you enjoying #InternationalWhaleSharkDay? The #WhaleShark is the world’s biggest fish! How big? As big as 14 metres and 20 tons. That’s about the same as a bus full of people! This image from Harold MCCormick's “Shadows in the sea: the sharks, skates and rays” can help you picture their scale.

It’s a #FishyFriday, and we’re sneaking in a #cephalopod: the “Australian Tooth-cupped Cuttlefish”—these days called the southern calamari or southern reef squid (𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴)!

This #ThreatenedThursday we’re thinking about the plains-wanderer. Conversion of native grasslands to other uses and predation by introduced foxes has landed this species in trouble. We need to work on preserving their habitat so we can keep admiring them!

Happy #WorldLakeDay! We love the way lacustrine environments attract #biodiversity!

New this week! “Wildflowers of Western Australia” 🌸 by Emily H. Pelloe is now available from BHL Australia. It includes gorgeous plates as well as #sciart with bonus #marginalia! Via Royal Botanic Gardens Vic. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65015599 www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/65015580

This #MarsupialMonday join us in enjoying the eastern #quoll (𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴), once known as the native cat. A carnivorous marsupial, this critter is also very fashion conscious with its distinctive spots! As an extra trick, they exhibit biofluorescence under ultra-violet light—ooh la la!

Mmm… brunch is better with macadamias! Ferdinand Mueller wrote about the tree 🌲 for the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34876921 Contributed to BHL by the Natural History Museum Library, London.

This #FloralFriday we’re appreciating the #correa. This beautiful flower is part of a genus that includes eleven species and multiple cultivars. It’s popularity among gardeners everywhere is reflected in its appearances in “Curtis’s Botanical Magazine”.

The mallee emu-wren (illustrated by Henrik Grønvold) is one of 3 species of emu-wrens, found in the mallee woodland of north western Victoria and south-eastern SA. Its numbers are decreasing due to clearing, burning & climate fluctuation. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59136519 via Museums Vic

When we hear that Museums Victoria @museumsvictoria led the world-first study mapping the distribution of Brittle Stars (𝘖𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢) it seems like a good time to celebrate Ernst Haeckel’s “Kunstformen der Natur” which truly elevates #sciart to #highart!

🌱 BHL’s Call for Support soft-closes on Aug 31. 🧪 With @clirnews.bsky.social as our new fiscal sponsor, we now have an administrative & financial home, but we still need partners, hosts, funders & long-term investment to secure BHL's future. about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup... #ILoveBHL

We love to see #rewilding work! The Vic botanical gardens have the world’s largest endangered orchid rewilding program, & are working to save species like the metallic sun orchid, first described by their very own Ferdinand von Mueller in 1866.

On #MarsupialMonday, wombats are never far from our thoughts. In 1804’s “An Account of the English Colony of NSW”, David Collins writes, “The WOM-BAT is a squat, thick, short-legged and rather inactive quadruped, with great appearance of stumpy strength”.

This “Gallus Monstrosus Cauda Anguina” comes from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s “Serpentum, et draconum” published posthumously in 1640. Aldrovandi kept collections of botanical and zoological specimens and curiosities, including those drawn from folklore.

“Australian lepidoptera and their transformations, drawn from the life” is a two volume work by entomologist Alexander Walker Scott, illustrated by his two daughters, Helena and Harriet Scott. This illustration comes from volume 1. Volume 2 was published after Alexander Walker Scott’s death.

It’s another #FishyFriday and we’ve got our eyes on the remora, aka suckerfish or sharksucker. These alternative names take a cue from dorsal fins that create suction allowing them to hold on to marine animals. From Georges Cuvier’s “The Animal Kingdom".

Happy #WorldLizardDay! In Australia, we have lots of lizards 🦎 to celebrate—and they’ve been appearing in works on Australia since scientists started describing our species. These images by Sarah Stone come from 1790's Journal of voyage to New South Wales.

Georg Eberhard Rumpf produced “D’Amboinsche Rariteitkamer” in 1705. This work contains beautiful #sciart of the crustaceans of Indonesia. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41005786 Contributed to BHL Australia by Museums Victoria

New this week! We love a curiosity, and “Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des mollusques” qualifies. Volume 4 was published in year X of the French Republican calendar, aka 1801-1802 , with illustrations by Denys de Montfort. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/64977380 Via Museums Vic