Polyzoa XII
1885-1890
Frederick McCoy’s 'Polyzoa XII' looks like a botanical chart of exotic ferns, but it is actually a 19th-century scientific study of 'moss animals'—tiny marine invertebrates that build coral-like colonies. Created around 1885, these precise ink drawings reveal the intricate architecture of bryozoans, showing how individual tiny creatures link up to form complex structures that mimic twisted vines or sea fans. McCoy, a key figure in Australian natural history, produced these plates to catalog the ocean's weird inhabitants, highlighting the confusion early biologists faced when animals looked so much like plants.
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