Return to the glory days of natural history with this art reproduction of Marcus Elieser Bloch’s famous 18th century artwork Tetrodon Hispidus – The Sea Weather-Cock. Published originally in his great treatise on fishes Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische (1785), this historical copperplate engraving illustrates the unique anatomy of the white-spotted pufferfish (scientifically now referred to as Arothron hispidus).This amazingly detailed illustration depicts the pufferfish with its inflated round body, stiff protective spines, faint brown-striped pattern, and mouth-like dental plates. Its historical name “The Sea Weather-Cock” was chosen as an ode to the sailors’ folklore concerning its balloon-like structure.
