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Head of a Pelican from the East Indies

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

April 17, 1822

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 119

Additional Source Text:

"Dep[osite]d by Dr. R. Harlan."

Notes:

Possibly the Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), which is widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji and parts of Indonesia.

The donor, Richard Harlan (1796-1843), M.D., was an American paleontologist, anatomist, and physician. He was appointed the Peale Museum's professor of comparative anatomy in April 1821.

Specimen Type:

Individual parts

Current Common Name:

Austrlian pelican

Current Scientific Name

Pelecanus conspicillatus