the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles
Home Page Live Forums Archived Forums Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Forum Home Forum Home > General > Off-Topic Forum
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - 'Varanus ligneus' on the loose in the west country
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

'Varanus ligneus' on the loose in the west country

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
Liz Heard View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Location: South West
Status: Offline
Points: 1429
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 'Varanus ligneus' on the loose in the west country
    Posted: 07 Apr 2019 at 12:13pm
While out walking last week i glanced sideways and spotted what looked like a large but emaciated monitor lizard basking in the next field...
No, i hadn't been eating any 'exotic' mushrooms!





I'd previously thought that the word for something natural that resembles a piece of art (say a weathered log with a passing resemblance to a animal sculpture), was 'simulacra'. But having just Googled, that doesn't seem to be the case after all. 'Bio-mimickry' would fit the bill well - if it didn't already have a different definition.
So i don't know what the term - if indeed any exists - is.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

'Bio-artmimickry'?
Back to Top
chubsta View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 26 Apr 2013
Location: Folkestone,Kent
Status: Offline
Points: 430
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2019 at 8:59pm
Simulacra, at least that's what they always call it in Fortean Times. I would say 'mimicry' would have too much of the 'intentional' about it.

Good spot though, has a touch of the Ray Harryhousen about it - half expect a skeleton to rise up behind the hedge!
Back to Top
Liz Heard View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Location: South West
Status: Offline
Points: 1429
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2019 at 10:15am
Ah, thanks for clearing that up. The Fortean Times might well be where i heard the term 'simulacra'. Yeah, you're right - 'mimicry' does sound too 'anthropogenic'.

A couple of previous observations from the distant past spring to mind.
There used to be a studded manhole cover on a footpath near my parents home. Small patches of the tarmac next to it had worn away to resemble the feet and head of a tortoise, leaving the cover to represent it's scuted shell.

Another time along a country lane, a tight 'nest' of thick, curly and dead ivy stems springing sideward from a wall made for a convincing trophy bust of a fleecy Cotswold ram's head (with horns!).

Be nice to see some other examples should you spot any...
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.06
Copyright ©2001-2016 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 2.816 seconds.