100. BUDERENGEL AND FRIENDS
At a fast glance, the “Species Guide to San Francisco Bay Wetlands” which could be described as classic/catastrophic, resembles the famous etchings of British naturalist Mark Catesby. But look again and it’s apparent that the familiar creatures are grossly mutated. When Catesby was here in the late 18th century making his exquisite illustrations for the earliest American natural history book, freshwater species really did live in fresh water. Times have certainly changed, and we had better do something.

“We didn’t have much of a budget, but we knew it was important to create something unique,” says creative director Vince Engel. Godzilla was the inspiration lurking behind this gently menacing poster, in which art director Mike Lee created drawings based on traditional etching techniques. “Ned Brown-Sterns finally put his Latin to use and named all the mutants,” Engel says. The old English naturist would have been dismayed to encounter a little Reithrodontomys riviventris halicoetes bicauda, a two-tailed salt marsh harvest mouse without quivering whiskers. If we don’t make some radical changes, all such whiskers may cease to quiver.

“The world might be in for a big surprise if we don’t take better care of our environment,” says Engel.
Romy Ashby