ABSTRACT We have studied the discourse of a zoological corpus upon Chioglossa lusitanica (Amphibia: Salamandridae) and we are still finding fictional elements in it. Part of the corpus is shown as evidence that some zoologists wrote a story, in order to tell the truth indirectly, because this Salamander was a secret creation. And the truth is - Chioglossa lusitanica is an artificial hybrid, introduced by Manuel Paulino de Oliveira, director of the Coimbra Zoological Museum. Chioglossa is mostly a Californian Salamander, belonging to the same group as the Italian and French Hydromantes (family Plethodontidae). Boscá suggests that it is a macho (mule) and Viegas & Crespo published the results of a serological test on the C. lusitanica: its albumin band is double, as in the hybrid Rana esculenta. The most important codes to state its real origin are the hybrid writing, wich shows the characters inconstancy, and the chaotical information about its habitat. On the other hand, Bocage intentionally destroyed the herpetological collections of the Lisbon Museum, an action only understandable in a political context: he was also a politician, three times minister. We try to explain such a bizarre situation with the international pressure in the partition of Africa and the Iberian will to establish a republican regime. The Portuguese Republic was the result of Carbonarian actions, that’s why we believe they had the responsability in the Salamander case. We are just presenting our first work - there are other writings about critical species, not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands (especially Cape Verde, Bioko and S. Tomé), Antilles and Mauritius.
|
