Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
May 20, 1804
Primary Source Reference:
Charles Willson Peale to RaP and ReP, 20 May 1804; Selected Papers, 2, part 1: 675
Additional Source Text:
"I had a fish to preserve, which I believe is Rembrandt's Tail-fish, altho' it was sent to me under the Name of Devil fish. I have now secured it from spoiling, and I am not a little fatigued with my days work."
Notes:
This specimen was probably a large ray of the genus Mobula (formerly its own genus Manta), which are common in the warm waters of the southern coasts of the U.S. Rembrandt, who most likely obtained the specimen while on his southern tour with the mastodon earlier in the year, may have referred to it as a "tail-fish" because of its long, whip-like tail. Selected Papers, 2, part 1: 675-676
See also the entry "A Devil Fish."
