Zoological museum we're visiting today is located at the
spit of Vasilyevskiy Island in the southern warehouse of Stock Exchange
(yellow building on the left from Stock Exchange itself).
According to published sources the
southern warehouse was the first facility in Russia expressly appointed
for exhibitions. The building was constructed in 1826-1832 under the
project of architect I.F. Lukini.
Zoological museum was
founded basing on the collection of Kunstkamera of Peter the Great (year
1714).
In 1832 after the proposal of academician F.F. Brandt the
collection has been evolved to separate museum opened in 1838.
In 1896 the museum was transferred into the southern warehouse
building, where it is located nowadays.
About 40 thousand animal species can be
seen in the museum.
Scientific stocks include approx. 15 million exhibits.
We're just
walking through the halls and taking some pictures.
"Blue Whale
balaenoptera musculus l.
USSR: Baltic, Barents, White, Bering,
Japanese Seas and Sea of Okhotsk: - ocean water area from Arctic to
Antarctic.
The most massive animal living in the present time and ever existed.
Maximum length is 35 meters, weight - up to 150 tons. Foodstuff is based
on plankton extracted by filtering system that consists of 360-400 pairs
of triangle corneous plates fringed along the inner edge (whalebone).
In recent times was an important trade object. Nowadays hunting is
prohibited in order to avoid disappearance of these species. The overall
head quantity worldwide in 1979 didn't exceed 15000.
Exposition shows skeleton, whalebone plates and reduced model of
appearance."
Walrus at the top.
Down left - northern sea elephant.
Whale skeleton in the background (we approached from the opposite side).
"Rhinobatus halavi (Forskal)
Pacific
Ocean, near China shores, Malay Archipelago and Australia, Indian Ocean,
Red Sea, western coast of Africa. Viviparous. Length up to 2 meters."
That's how the real 'halyava' looks indeed. :-) (Play
on words: in Russian "halyava" means "freebie").
"Headfish
Mola mola linnaeus
All seas of temperate and tropic zones. Length more
than 3 meters, weight up to 1000 kg. The most fertile among fishes -
spawns about 300 million roe corns."
Upper board:
"Small-teeth
sawfish
Pristis microdon Latham
Tropic water areas of Atlantic, Indian and western part of Pacific
oceans. Length up to 4,6 meters."
Lower board:
"Long-teeth sawfish
Pristis pectinatus Latham
Tropical and subtropical seas. Length up to 4,5 meters and more."
Corals
Polar bears
Penguins
Wolfs
Mammoths
Don't remember exactly, but seems like
owl.
It is quite big, by the way.
If you meet it in forest, effect is guaranteed. :)
And these animals reminded me an old
cartoon about Mumi-Troll.
However I didn't see it yet during probably last 10 years on TV.
An animator must have been watching a lot
of "Inside the Animal World" (Russian famous TV-show about animals).
Lions are natural (not painted I mean).
But the background with trees is rather painted.
