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'Varanus ligneus' on the loose in the west country |
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Liz Heard
Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Location: South West Status: Offline Points: 1429 |
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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'? |
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chubsta
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2013 Location: Folkestone,Kent Status: Offline Points: 430 |
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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!
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Liz Heard
Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Location: South West Status: Offline Points: 1429 |
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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... |
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