Reiss, Christian (2022) From Existential Knowledge to Experimental Practice. CENTAURUS, 64 (3). pp. 615-634. ISSN 0008-8994, 1600-0498
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In 1864, the first living Mexican axolotls were brought from Mexico to Paris. On arrival, the 34 animals were divided up between the two zoos in Paris, the Menagerie of the Museum d'Histoire naturelle and the Jardin d'acclimatation. From there, the animals and their descendants spread around the world as zoo and laboratory specimens, as well as pets. Today, a population of hundreds of thousands of axolotls live in aquariums, zoos, and laboratories around the globe. The fate of the axolotls in the Menagerie and their subsequent proliferation open a unique window into the culture and practices of keeping unknown animals in Europe in the 19th century, and their relation to experimental zoology. During the early years, the challenges were to keep the axolotls alive and to bring them to reproduction. The surprising transformation of some of these normally aquatic animals into a land-dwelling form prompted further investigations of their living conditions and mode of reproduction. The example of the axolotl offers a detailed look into the practices of handling unknown species, the ways in which this handling became research, and the kinds of knowledge produced in this context. I pay particular attention to the role of the animal keepers and the infrastructures, and the ways in which practical knowledge about the animals' living conditions triggered experimental research.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | HISTORY; Acclimatization; Ambystoma Mexicanum; Animal Husbandry; Auguste Dum?ril; Experimental Zoology; Honor?e Vall?e; Zoo History |
| Subjects: | 100 Philosophy & psychology > 100 Philosophy |
| Divisions: | Philosophy, Art History, History, and Humanities > Institut für Philosophie > Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Christoph Meinel |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Oct 2023 10:49 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2023 10:49 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/56528 |
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