Diodon Orbicularis [Birdbeak Burrfish] Die Stachelkugel. L’Orbe-herisson. The prickly Bottlefish.

Description

hand-coloured copper engraving. Ichthyology print from the famous ‘D. Marcus Elieser Bloch’s, ausübenden Arztes zu Berlin …Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische’, pl. 127, […Natural History of Foreign Fishes].
Considered The FINEST illustrated work on fishes EVER produced.
The Cyclichthys orbicularis, known commonly as the Birdbeak Burrfish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Diodontidae.

Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish family, he learned German and Latin and studied anatomy before settling in Berlin as a physician. He amassed a large natural history collection, particularly of fish specimens. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century, and wrote many papers on natural history, comparative anatomy, and physiology.