Peter Cole <carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk> wrote
>I got a $AU50 note today, ready to send off to Allen Lowrie, and couldn't
>help noticing what looks very like a Utric trap on the reverse (the side
>with the portrait of Clunies Ross.) It's just below the microscope,
>slightly right of centre, near the bottom, perhaps with some sort of
>rotifer(?) as captured prey. The only other possibility that comes to mind
>might be some sort of crustacean or a sea anemone - it's not too clear.
>Do any of our friends down under know anything about this? From the other
>illustrations on the note, it would seem that Clunies Ross was some sort of
>microbiologist, but I have to confess I've never heard of him.
Sir Ian Clunies Ross (1899-1959) was the first chairman of the organisation
I work for, CSIRO, the Australian government's research organisation. My
workplace is even on Clunies Ross Street!!:)) His area of expertise was
veterinary parasitology, and I think he had a lot to do with diseases of
sheep. However there are other things on the note, including a
radio-telescope, so the pictures may represent his involvement in science in
general, with CSIRO, rather than just his speciality. It seems most likely
that the picture in question is of some sort of parasite or microbe rather
than a trap from a Utric. By the way, this note is no longer produced and
is currently being replaced by a new plastic $50 note.
If anyone is interested in looking at the note there is a site on the WWW
that has pictures of all Australian notes (except for the new plastic $50
note) http://www.physics.su.oz.au/~mar/ausmoney.html
Cheers,
Frank.
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Dr Frank Udovicic
Australian National Herbarium
CSIRO Division of Plant Industry
GPO Box 1600, Canberra
ACT 2601 AUSTRALIA
Email: franku@pican.pi.csiro.au
Phone: (06) 246 5177
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