Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx foliatus

This watercolour is the first known illustration of a Weedy Seadragon from Victorian waters in 1858. It was commissioned by Sir Frederick McCoy, Director of Museum Victoria as part of his zoological research. It forms part of the much larger Prodromus Collection. Many of the original illustrations in the collection informed the production of the two-volume work "The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria" which was Museum Victoria's first major publication beginning in 1878. It is likely that this animal was dead when the artist took out his watercolours to capture its likeness, for while Becker's spidery lines capture its extraordinary form, the colour is rather more drab than in life. In his accompanying description, McCoy speculated that an Aboriginal drawing he had seen was 'manifestly inspired' by the seadragon. Unfortunately the drawing referred to has never come to light. It is pleasantly ironic that this animal, which McCoy described as a 'most singular-looking fish', is now the official marine emblem of Victoria. 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.'