1737
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Sucking Fish (Echeneis Naucratis) is a 1737 ink by Mark Catesby, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This 1731 etching shows a fish with a leech-like disc on its head clinging to a turtle shell. The artist drew it life-size, with fine lines and small dots to show texture. The turtle seems calm, used to the hitchhiker. Mark Cateby traveled to the Americas to study animals. He published this in *Natural History of Carolina*, the first big book about North American wildlife. Scientists still use his exact pictures. Look for the National Gallery of Art, Washington to see this sheet up close.
Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of the New World.
See the richer artist page
