<
https://theconversation.com/returning-a-170-year-old-preserved-lizard-to-jamaica-is-a-step-toward-redressing-colonial-harms-229339>
"Museums often celebrate new acquisitions, especially something rare or
historic. In April 2024, scientists from the Natural History Museum of Jamaica
and The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus accepted a very rare and
historic specimen: a 16-inch lizard called the Jamaican giant galliwasp
(
Celestus occiduus). It had previously been stored in the Hunterian museum at
the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
“‘Celeste’ is home!” announced one Jamaican news outlet, invoking the nickname
scientists had given the reptile, which they believed was a female.
Why would a preserved lizard, some 170 years old, evoke such excitement?
Celeste was collected in the 1850s and represents a species that was endemic to
Jamaica but is now classified as critically endangered and possibly extinct.
Scientists in Jamaica, who have never seen or handled one of these lizards, are
elated to have one to study.
As scholars of Jamaican landscape histories who are interested in environmental
justice, we believe this repatriation illustrates important truths about
colonialism and its legacies. Celeste’s 170-year residence in a Scottish
university collection speaks to uncomfortable connections between colonialism
and natural history."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
