To Albert Günther   12 August 1878

Melbourne

12/8/7[8]1

 

In reply to your letter of the 11th June, dear Dr Guenther,2 I beg to inform you, that Count de Castelnau never got more than 2 specimens of his Neocarassius ventricosus, one of which he wishes to keep as a typical specimen, the other he has sent to the Paris Museum.3 At the latter place, which you doubtless visit from time to time, you would be able to examine this apparently singular creature. The Count has promised me, that the next specimen, which may be caught, should be placed at my disposal. In such a case I shall not fail to send it to you.

If in any other way I can be of service to you, pray command unhesitatingly my attention.

Mit bestem Grüsse4

Ferd von Mueller5

1
While ‘70’ is a possible alternative reading, several things point to M’s having intended ‘78’, namely the date of publication of Castelnau’s description, the accession dates of the specimens at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, the archival location of the letter, and the fact that the design of M’s baronial arms was not finalized until 1872.
2
Letter not found.
3
The fish was described in Castelnau (1872), p. 237. The on-line catalogue of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle does not included a specimen of Neocarassius ventricosus , but there are two Castelnau specimens of Carassius auratus auratus of which Neocarassius ventricosus is a synonym, collected in 1877 (MNHN-IC-1877-0395 and MNHN-IC-1877-0461. However, the MNHN website states that the on-line catalogue entry does not represent the entire collection.
4
Sincerely yours.
5
M's card, showing his approved baronial arms above 'Baron Ferd. von Mueller | Ph. & M.D., C.M.G., F.R.S' is glued to the letter.

Please cite as “FVM-78-08-12a,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/78-08-12a