osprey_archer | La Specola

Did you know that there's a mollusc that secretes a fiber that can be knitted into gloves? That kangaroo rats, gerbil-like creatures with kangaroo legs, really exist? And that aye-ayes look like they are the messengers of Satan?

All these things and more I learned yesterday, because we went to La Specola - the Florentice Museum of Zoology and Natural History, which is COMPLETELY AMAZING. They have tens of thousands of specimens, which are interesting purely in themselves, but also little side exhibits that show all kinds of fascinating things.

Camouflage butterflies, in situ on the bark and branches they use to hide.

Examples of all the different shapes of eggs, accompanied by different shapes of nests. (Some of them look like baskets. I wonder if this is where people got the basket idea.)

A primates display, with a plexiglass case for the great apes: gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutangs - and an open case, for the visitor to get in and complete the set.

We went because my friends who were here are both med students, and wanted to see the wax anatomical models. It's not an obvious thing to do in Florence, but it's been my favorite so far.