Léon Vaillant
French zoologist (1834–1914)
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Léon Louis Vaillant (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ lwi vajɑ̃]; 11 November 1834 – 24 November 1914) was a French zoologist. He is most famous for his work in the areas of herpetology, malacology, and ichthyology.
Léon Vaillant | |
|---|---|
Léon Vaillant | |
| Born | 11 November 1834 |
| Died | 24 November 1914 (aged 80) Paris, France |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | Muséum national d'histoire naturelle |
| Thesis | Recherche sur la famille des Tridacnidés (1865) |
After graduating from the College d'Arras in 1854, he studied medicine and zoology in Paris. He received his medical doctorate in 1861, then continued his zoological studies with Henri Milne-Edwards (1800–1885), earning his degree in natural sciences in 1865. He became a professor at the Museum of Natural History, Paris, in 1875.
Vaillant held a special interest involving the systematics and anatomy of turtles and crocodiles, but he also made significant contributions through his investigations of reptilian physiology and behavior. Of his 200-plus scientific writings, 90 of them are based on herpetological subjects.[1]
He participated in French naval expeditions on the Travailleur in 1880, 1881 and 1882, and on the Talisman in 1883.
Eponyms
There are several species of marine organisms named after Vaillant:
- The ribbon worm, Amphiporus vaillanti (Joubin, 1902)
- The squat lobster, Munidopsis vaillantii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1881)
- Solamen vaillanti (Issel, 1869)
- Solariella vaillanti (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896)
- Turbonilla vaillanti (Dautzenberg & Fischer, 1896)[2]
There are four species of reptiles named after him:
- Chioninia vaillantii (Boulenger, 1887)[3]
- Micrelaps vaillanti (Mocquard, 1888)[3]
- Liophidium vaillanti (Mocquard, 1901)[3]
- Dopasia ludovici (Mocquard, 1905)[3]
The following fish are named after Vaillant:
- Bagrichthys vaillantii (Popta, 1906)[4]
- The dragon fish, Bathophilus vaillanti (Zugmayer, 1911)
- The shortspine African angler, Lophius vaillanti (Regan, 1903)
- The pike cichlid Crenicichla vaillanti (Pellegrin, 1904)[5]
- Paraliparis vaillanti (Chernova, 2004) is a species of snailfish found in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean primarily in the Laurentia Channel, between Newfoundland and Cape Breton.[6]
- The Samurai gourami, Sphaerichthys vaillanti (Pellegrin, 1930)
- Thynnichthys vaillanti (Weber & de Beaufort, 1916)[7]
- Astroblepus vaillanti (Regan, 1904)[8]
- Pseudomystus vaillanti (Regan, 1913)[4]
The following fish are possibly named after him:
- Pseudogobio vaillanti (Sauvage, 1878)[9]
- Hypostomus vaillanti (Steindachner, 1877)[10] is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Preto River basin in the São Francisco River drainage.[11]
- Anchoviella vaillanti (Steindachner, 1908)[12]
- Rasbora vaillantii (Popta, 1905)[13]
Written works
- Études sur les poissons, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale – Study of fishes; with Marie Firmin Bocourt (1819–1904).
- Essai sur le système pileux dans l'espèce humaine, 1861, medical dissertation.
- Observations sur la constitution géologique de quelques terrains aux environs de Suez, 1865 – Observations on the geological constitution of terrain and environs of Suez.
- Recherches sur la famille des Tridacnides, 1865 – Research of the family Tridacninae.
- Note sur quelques objets océaniens empruntés au test de différents mollusques, 1868, Bulletin de la société géologique de France – Note on a few items from the Pacific borrowed in order to test different mollusks.
- Quelques mots sur Denys de Montfort à propos d'une brochure parue en 1815, sd Rapport sur les poissons, crustacés et mollusques, 1880, Exposition universelle de 1878, à Paris – Some comments by Pierre Denys de Montfort (1766–1820); report on fishes, crustaceans and mollusks.
- Mémoire sur la disposition des vertèbrés cervicales chez les chéloniens 1880 – Memoir on the disposition of cervical vertebrae of chelonians.
- Expéditions scientifiques du travailleur et du Talisman pendant les annees 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883. Poissons, 1888 – Scientific expeditions of the Travailleur and the Talisman during the years 1880 to 1883.
- Histoire naturelle des annelés marins et d'eau douce, 1889–1890, Collection des Suites à Buffon – Natural history of marine and freshwater annelids; with Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau (1810–1892).
- Les tortues éteintes de l'île Rodriguez d'après les pièces conservées dans les galeries du Muséum, 1893 – Turtles off the island of Rodrigues, in reference to conserved pieces in the museum galleries.[14]
- Histoire naturelle des reptiles. Première partie: Crocodiles et tortues, 1910 – Natural history of reptiles, first part: crocodiles and turtles.