Tasmanian Giant Crab, Pseudocarcinus gigas

This lithographic print by John James Wild was commissioned by Sir Frederick McCoy, Director of Museum Victoria as part of the two-volume work The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria which was Museum Victoria's first major publication beginning in 1878. As with many of the animals represented this was the first time the species had been figured in the colours of life. McCoy noted that "it is not uncommon at the western extremity of the coast-line of the colony, particularly about Portland, from whence examples are often brought to the fish-market. The small female with the much smaller claws seems more common than the great male with its immense powerful pincers."The Prodromus project followed a popular formula of the time, seeking to identify and classify the natural wonders of the 'new world'. Such publications reached a peak in popularity with the work of John Gould in England and the earlier work of James Audubon in America. In Australia, many professional and amateur publications, including Aldine's systematic studies of the colonies and Louise Anne Meredith's Bush Friends From Tasmania, contributed to the genre.The publication of the Prodromus was an enormous undertaking, utilising the work of numerous artists, collectors, lithographers and publishers, over an extended period of time. Although costly in both financial and professional terms, it was met with critical acclaim and wide popular support. Financial battles were waged and lost by McCoy, but ultimately the Prodromus has stood the test of time and remains one of Museum Victoria's finest publications. McCoy died without completing his systematic study, but even at the time few believed that 'any of us will live to witness the completion of the work, if the entire Fauna of Victoria is to be illustrated.'