Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis (original) (raw)

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Scientific hoax bird

"Eoörnis resting on a rocky pinnacle, supported by the rapid vibration of the wings"

Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis is a fictional bird, a humorous hoax by Lester W. Sharp, professor of botany, Cornell University, United States.

It was initially a short talk presented together with a graduate student, Cuthbert Fraser, about the most unusual bird from the Gobi Desert, called woofen-poof by the local populace.[1][2] Eventually it grew into a 34-page monograph signed by an "Augustus C. Fotheringham, Sc.D. (Cantab.), F.R.G.S.", printed by "The Buighleigh Press" in 1928,[3] full of illustrated detail of anatomy, physiology, ecology, evolution, and historical references, complete with Cro-Magnon cave paintings — all inspired by a car mascot of a pelican.[4] For example, Pterovelox "is perhaps most frequently observed in a peculiar resting position — legs straight out behind with the feet on the rock, tree branch or other object, the body being supported by continuous vibration of wings".[3]

The monograph has later been reprinted several times.[3]

The peculiarities of the bird's mating were even unwittingly quoted in a eugenics article on consanguineous marriages in 1934: "A new, and recently authenticated, case of naturally determined incest, appears to have been discovered by the British Museum Expedition to the Gobi Desert in 1929, when a bird, the Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis, was found, which hatches twins at each birth, a male and a female, and these same individuals later mate and are monogamous."[5]

Harriet Creighton recalls her witnessing how the woofen-poof hoax backfired on the hoaxer himself. In her presence, Professor Sharp was reading with disbelief a review on "Eoörnis..." published in The Quarterly Review of Biology (Pearl 1930, reprinted in 1976[2]) and was truly under the impression that the reviewer was hoaxed until he reached the end, which made clear that the review was on par with the reviewed article.[6]

The Journal of Paleontology published another review, by Frank C. Whitmore. of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1967 (41: 1302-1303), which was singled out in a tribute to Dr. Whitmore as "an example of the good doctor's breadth of knowledge, attention to detail, and mellow humor".[7]

The back cover of the 2007/2011 Euston Grove Press print of the monograph says it was a mockery of heavily promoted Central Asiatic Expeditions of Roy Chapman Andrews and the American Museum of Natural History.[3]

  1. ^ "The Woofen-Poof (aka Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis)"
  2. ^ a b "Eoornis pterovelox gobiensis", by Augustus C. Fotheringham, Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 51, 50th Anniversary Special Issue, 1926-1976 (1976), pp. 90-91
  3. ^ a b c d Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis, monograph (internet archive). The back cover includes some comments on the monograph.
  4. ^ Humor in the Scientific Literature, Ralph A. Lewin, BioScience, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Apr., 1983), pp. 266-268 doi:10.2307/1309040
  5. ^ Anthony M. Ludovici, "Eugenics and consanguineous marriages", The Eugenics Review 25, 1933–34, pp. 147–155
  6. ^ "Harriet B. Creighton: Proud Botanist" Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Plant Science Bulletin 2005, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 118-125
  7. ^ Ralph E. Eshelman, "Tribute to Frank Clifford Whitmore, Jr." in: In A. Berta and T. A. Demere (eds.) Contributions in Marine Mammal Paleontology Honoring Frank C. Whitmore. Jr. Proc. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 29:3-10, 1994