Houghton Library

Pierre Belon was a French naturalist. His second book, "De aquatilibus," greatly expanded on his "L’histoire naturelle des estranges poissons marins" (Natural history of unusual marine fish) and included descriptions and illustrations of 185 fish, mollusks, and aquatic mammals. Its publication has been credited as the greatest single advance in the scientific study and classification of fish since Aristotle laid the foundation of modern ichthyology.

On view in the Houghton Lobby Gallery through August 21, 2026.



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Pierre Belon (1517–1564). De aquatilibus: Libri duo; cm [epsilon, iota] conibus ad viuam ipsorum effigiem, quoad eius fieri potuit, expressis. Paris, 1553. Ang 47.46*. Gift of John Bartlett, 1892.

In honor today, we’re taking a moment to celebrate two of our graduating student workers and the important work they do to support Houghton!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT (2/2): Moqadas Rasul is completing her Master of Theological Studies at the Harvard Divinity School, with a concentration in Islamic Studies. She started working at Houghton in Fall of 2024.

📝 Most memorable experience of working at Houghton?
My most memorable experience has been working with Arabic manuscripts while assisting with digitization projects. As someone concentrating in Islamic Studies, it was fascinating for me to see manuscripts connected to the early Islamic period, including old hadith texts, works by early Islamic scholars, and Qur’an manuscripts. Being able to personally see these centuries-old manuscripts has been the most memorable experience for me, so I have attached a few photos of it as well.

📚 Favorite collection?
My favorite object was a Qur’an manuscript that I came across while paging in the stacks at Pusey (MS Arab SM6025). It looked very old and appeared to be written on parchment or animal skin. I was struck by how fragile, beautiful, and historically rich it felt. Seeing it so closely was a very special experience.