- This inconspicuous constellation, sandwiched between Cygnus and Andromeda like a lizard between rocks, was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his star catalogue of 1687 and depicted in his star atlas published posthumously in 1690. Hevelius gave it the alternative title of Stellio, a type of lizard also known as a starred agama, but this secondary name soon fell into disuse.
- Star Tales - Mensa (ianridpath.com)
A small, faint constellation of the far southern sky invented by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille to commemorate Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa, from where he catalogued the southern stars in 1751–52. Lacaille originally gave it the French name Montagne de la Table on the first version of his planisphere published in 1756 but this was Latinized to Mons Mensae on the second edition of 1763. In 1844 the English astronomer John Herschel proposed shortening it to Mensa. Francis Baily adopted this suggestion in his British Association Catalogue of 1845, and it has been known as Mensa ever since.