The Geosciences Library of the University of Padua preserves 43 drawings of fossil fish, consisting of 20 sheets. They reproduce some of the fossil fishes from Bolca presently kept in the Section of Geology and Paleontology of the Museum of Nature and Humankind of the University of Padua (MNU).

In 1882, Giovanni Omboni, as Director of the Cabinet of Mineralogy and Geology, compiled a list of the drawings, and declared that they were ‘commissioned by Molin’, who was the previous Director from 1851 to 1866. Omboni numbered all the drawings.

In Omboni’s list and on the drawings, it is written that 11 finds came from De Zigno’s collection, while the others belonged to the collection of Padua University Museum.

The drawings allowed the close study of the fossils, instead of the more fragile actual finds, and moreover, allowed the study of them outside the University. Omboni mentioned that the drawings were borrowed by Francesco Bassani, in 1881, and, in 1892, by Otto Jaekel of Berlin. Jaekel used them as a basis for the illustrations of his work of 1894 Die eocänen Selachier vom Monte Bolca.

From whom and when were the drawings painted?

Some of them have the signature of G.B. Lago, a few times together with a date from 1860 to 1862.

De Zigno mentioned Giovan Battista Lago in a few passages in his memoirs and in the field notebooks, without any reference to the drawings, however, in different situations, when De Zigno requested of the designer the reproduction of fossils that he received from Omboni and the Gazzola Museum of Verona and that he had to give back. In the field notebook E, on the date of October 24th, 1894, the following quote is reported:

‘Today, Adelaide brought to me the news from Padua that the Fish from the Gazola Museum had arrived. I went to Padua, and I examined the Fish and showed it to Lago and Meneghini, who visited me, and both said that it was marvellous. I gave the Fish to Lago to make a drawing of it’.

De Zigno reproduced a few drawings in his works. For instance, the following image is the plate II of his Annotazioni paleontologiche. Pesci fossili nuovi del calcare eoceno dei Monti Bolca e Postale (1874): the image is a print reproduction of the original watercolour that you can see at the bottom of this web page.

The original fossil, both part and counterpart, is kept in the Section of Geology and Paleontology of the Museum of Nature and Humankind of the University of Padua (MNU) (catalogue number MGP-PD 150Z-151Z).

7 drawings were restored in 2022 thanks to a funding of Centro di Ateneo per i Musei (CAM) of the University of Padua.

Watercolour n. 9 (drawing n. 6) with the caption Anacanthus zigni Molin n. sp. The find has recently been revised by Marramà et al. (2019) and has been attributed to Tethytrygon muricatus (Volta, 1796).
Some details of the drawing have been explained by a note. To read the note, hover your mouse over the highlighted text.