Publication at Faculty of Science, Faculty of Humanities |
2010
Abstract
The article deals with cultural and scientific representations of giant salamanders, mainly in the Czech lands. As an important scientific object, an even more important cultural image, and a powerful and ancient symbol, the giant salamander (or, Salamander, Andrias) is firmly bound – as a fossil, live animal and literary figure – to the Czech lands and to the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague in particular.
Three different lines form the article. Despite their heterogeneity, they form a unity.
First, the authors examine the story of Andrias scheuzeri or homo diluvii testis in the history of paleontology, which ends with the discovery of a fossil Andrias bohemicus, the Czech giant salamander.