Vermiculation

Last updated
Close view of a common teal showing the vermiculation pattern in its feathers. Vermiculation of a Common Teal.jpg
Close view of a common teal showing the vermiculation pattern in its feathers.
Detail showing a "vermiculated" background on a chasse reliquary casket Vermicule Limoges Louvre OA5892.jpg
Detail showing a "vermiculated" background on a chasse reliquary casket
Architectural vermiculation in Paris Boulevard Saint-Germain, 286 (vermiculure).jpg
Architectural vermiculation in Paris

Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin vermiculus meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of contexts for patterns that have little in common. The adjective vermiculated is more often used than the noun.

Contents

Vermiculation naturally occurs in patterns on a wide variety of species, for example in the feathers of certain birds, for which it may provide either camouflage [1] or decoration. Several species are named after this trait, either in English or by the Latin vermicularis.

It also appears in architecture as a form of rustication where the stone is cut with a pattern of wandering lines. In metalwork, vermiculation is used to form a type of background found in Romanesque enamels, especially on chasse reliquary caskets. In this case the term is used for what is in fact a dense pattern of regular ornament using plant forms and tendrils. In Ancient Roman mosaics, opus vermiculatum was the most detailed technique, and pieces are often described as "vermiculated" in English.

Species named "vermiculated"

Several species of owls are named for their vermiculated patterns
Other

Species named vermicularis

Some species have patterns that look like little worms, others actually are little worms. Some of these names have now been superseded.

Other uses

The rock texture myrmekite is composed of vermicular worm-like intergrowths of quartz and feldspar.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zürich Zoologischer Garten</span> Zoo in Zurich

The Zoo Zürich is a zoo located in Zürich, Switzerland. It is considered one of the best zoos in Europe. Opened in 1929, it is the third oldest zoo in Switzerland and it accumulated a collection of 2,200 specimens of 300 species by its seventy-fifth year. It is located on Zürichbergstrasse, on the lower reaches of the Zürichberg in the Fluntern quarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rustication (architecture)</span> Masonry technique of texturing

Rustication is a range of masonry techniques used in classical architecture giving visible surfaces a finish texture that contrasts with smooth, squared-block masonry called ashlar. The visible face of each individual block is cut back around the edges to make its size and placing very clear. In addition the central part of the face of each block may be given a deliberately rough or patterned surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabbitfish</span> Genus of fishes

Rabbitfishes or spinefoots, genus Siganus, are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. It is the only extant genus in its family and has 29 species. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species, such as the masked spinefoot, show a reduced form of the stripe pattern. Rabbitfishes are native to shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific, but S. luridus and S. rivulatus have become established in the eastern Mediterranean via Lessepsian migration. They are commercially important food fish, and can be used in the preparation of dishes such as bagoong.

The fauna of Maine include several diverse land and aquatic animal species, especially those common to the North Atlantic Ocean and deciduous forests of North America. Some of these creatures' habitats has been reduced or fully removed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of the United States</span> Native animals of the United States

The fauna of the United States of America is all the animals living in the Continental United States and its surrounding seas and islands, the Hawaiian Archipelago, Alaska in the Arctic, and several island-territories in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. The U.S. has many endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. With most of the North American continent, the U.S. lies in the Nearctic, Neotropic, and Oceanic faunistic realms, and shares a great deal of its flora and fauna with the rest of the American supercontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Undulated tinamou</span> Species of bird

The undulated tinamou is a species of ground bird found in a wide range of wooded habitats in eastern and northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of Europe</span> Native animals of Europe

The fauna of Europe is all the animals living in Europe and its surrounding seas and islands. Europe is the western part of the Palearctic realm. Lying within the temperate region, the wildlife is not as rich as in the hottest regions, but is nevertheless diverse due to the variety of habitats and the faunal richness of Eurasia as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharaoh eagle-owl</span> Species of owl

The Pharaoh eagle-owl is a Middle Eastern and North African species of owl in the family Strigidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape eagle-owl</span> Species of owl

The Cape eagle-owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is one of several large species of the eagle-owl genus Bubo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle American screech owl</span> Species of owl

The Middle American screech owl, also known as the Guatemalan screech owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from northern Mexico to western Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermiculated fishing owl</span> Species of owl

The vermiculated fishing owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found within riverine forest in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria. This species was first described by British zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1875 and named in honour of French naturalist Eugène Louis Bouvier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyish eagle-owl</span> Species of owl

The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl is a rather large owl of the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was previously regarded as the northern subspecies of the spotted eagle-owl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mkhambathi Nature Reserve</span> Coastal nature reserve at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Mkhambathi Nature Reserve is a protected area at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is 7,720 hectares, with the Pondoland Marine Protected Area off its coastal edge. The reserve is located in the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and the greater Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany Hotspot, and is covered in open grassland, dotted with patches of indigenous forest, swamp forests and flanked by the forested ravines of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers.

T. vermicularis may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of Italy</span> Native animals of Italy

The fauna of Italy comprises all the animal species inhabiting the territory of the Italian Republic and its surrounding waters. Italy has one of the highest levels of faunal biodiversity in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna. This is due to various factors. The Italian peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, forming a corridor between central Europe and North Africa, and it has 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of coastline. Italy also receives species from the Balkans, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy's varied geological structure, including the Alps and the Apennines, Central Italian woodlands, and Southern Italian Garigue and Maquis shrubland, also contribute to high climate and habitat diversity.

<i>Clavaria fragilis</i> Species of fungus

Clavaria fragilis, commonly known as fairy fingers, white worm coral, or white spindles, is a species of fungus in the family Clavariaceae. It is synonymous with Clavaria vermicularis. The fungus is the type species of the genus Clavaria and is a typical member of the clavarioid or club fungi. It produces tubular, unbranched, white basidiocarps that typically grow in clusters. The fruit bodies can reach dimensions of 15 cm (5.9 in) tall by 0.5 cm (0.2 in) thick. Clavaria fragilis is a saprobic species, growing in woodland litter or in old, unimproved grassland. It is widespread throughout temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, but has also been reported from Australia and South Africa. The fungus is edible, but insubstantial and flavorless. There are several other small white coral-like fungi with which C. fragilis may be confused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foothill screech owl</span> Species of owl

The foothill screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermiculated screech owl</span> Species of owl

The vermiculated screech owl, is a subspecies, or possibly separate species, of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermiculated spinefoot</span> Species of fish

The vermiculated spinefoot, also known as maze rabbitfish, scribbled spinefoot or vermiculate rabbitfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae. Like all rabbitfishes, it has venomous spines on the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. It is a reef associated fish species of the Indo-West Pacific region. It is a common commercially important fish in many tropical countries.

References

  1. See, e.g., Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, Nick Leseberg, Birds of Australia: A Photographic Guide (2014), p. 110.