McCoy Special Issue Part Two

McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria – an Unfinished Task

A.L. Yen, S. Boyd, A.J. Coventry, J. Dixon, M. Gomon, M. O’Loughlin, G. Poore and K. Walker

Abstract
Frederick McCoy published the Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria between 1878 and 1890. It included text and illustrations on 447 species of invertebrates and vertebrates. The aim was to make people more aware of Victoria’s natural history. Although it was not continued after 1890, the Prodromus contains important biological and distributional information about many species, some of which are now threatened with extinction.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 242-255.)
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The Bryozoa of McCoy’s Prodromus

Philip Bock

Abstract
Of the 200 plates published in McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, 61 were devoted to bryozoans, documenting 309 species from the Port Phillip region. This major contribution to the knowledge of marine life of the colony was clearly the result of close co-operation between Sir Frederick McCoy and Dr Paul MacGillivray. Although much of this fauna has been revised by later workers, and much more revision is still needed, the account in the Prodromus remains the most significant single contribution to the taxonomy of Australian bryozoans.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 256-265.)
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Frederick McCoy – the Challenge of Interpretation of Thylacoleonid Fossil Material

Bernard Mace

Abstract
To 19th century biologists, Australia was a ‘living museum’ of marsupial species, and it became apparent that many of the extant genera were represented by fossils in the Tertiary geological strata of the northern hemisphere. Large marsupial carnivores were surprisingly absent from the extant fauna, except in Tasmania, and it was the palaeontologists, initially overseas experts exemplified by Professor (Sir) Richard Owen, who discovered that the Late Pleistocene was well served with marsupial carnivores. The most spectacular of all, and among the last to be verified, was Thylacoleo carnifex (Owen), the Marsupial Lion. The characterisation of this unique animal as a carnivore, rather than herbivore, omnivore or scavenger, was the subject of prolonged argument among experts of the time. Frederick McCoy was one of an emerging group of local scientists to enter the debate, and made an outstanding contribution.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 287-293.)
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M‘Coy and the Australian Ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurus australis (M‘Coy, 1867)

A.J. Hell

Abstract
The first Australian ichthyosaur fossils were described by Frederick M‘Coy in 1867 from a series of fossil specimens collected by James Sutherland in the Flinders River region, northern Queensland. An initial case of fossils collected was primarily used by M‘Coy to provide the first incontrovertible proof of the existence of the Cretaceous System in Australia. Subsequent follow-up work was undertaken and further specimens were collected, including fossil vertebrae that were named by M‘Coy, Ichthyosaurus australis (M‘Coy 1867). Despite describing the species as ‘the most interesting fossil animal yet found in Australia’ his descriptions were brief and limited and have been criticized by a number of later workers.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 294-297.)
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Animal Acclimatisation: McCoy and the Menagerie That Became Melbourne’s Zoo

Linden Gillbank

Abstract
Frederick McCoy’s mid-nineteenth century zoological interests included animal acclimatisation. He helped shape the menagerie in Mueller’s Botanic Gardens and later in the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria’s Royal Park depot, where it grew into Melbourne’s zoo. He was particularly interested in three animals shipped from India – the Cashmere goat, Arrindy silkworm and Indian Minah.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 297-304.)
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Frederick McCoy and the Naturalist Tradition

Doug McCann

Abstract
From August 1869 until May 1871, an anonymous naturalist under the pseudonym ‘Microzoon’ published a superb series of articles in a weekly Melbourne newspaper, The Australasian. The author was undoubtedly Frederick McCoy. The Microzoon articles provide a valuable early record of aspects of the natural history of Victoria, in particular the bird life, but also covering a selection of other topics including snakes, insects, fish, molluscs, geology, palaeontology and stratigraphy.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 309-313.)
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Frederick McCoy’s Mount Macedon Property

Doug McCann

Abstract
In the later part of his life Frederick McCoy selected and developed a bush block on the slopes of Mount Macedon. The conditions for purchase required him to plant and foster the growth of various northern hemisphere trees and shrubs. He duly cleared part of the block, planted trees, shrubs and grass, put up fencing, constructed a small reservoir and laid pipes. In 1876, having fulfilled government requirements, he purchased the property and retained ownership until 1890.
(The Victorian Naturalist, 118 (6), 2001, 319-321.)
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