Émile-Eugène-Aldric Topsent (10 February 1862 – 22 September 1951) was a French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

known for his research of

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

s. He was born in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

. During his career he worked in several laboratories and institutes in western France. From 1919 to 1927 he was

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

at the

zoological Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

museum in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. In 1920 he was appointed chair of the '' Société zoologique de France''. Topsent described the Atlantic and Mediterranean

collections of

Prince Albert I of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death in 1922. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, ...

in three volumes (1892, 1927 & 1928). He named numerous

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

new to science, and his work is considered to be the basis for the modern classification system of

Porifera Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a Basal (phylogenetics) , basal clade and a sister taxon of the Eumetazoa , diploblasts. They are sessility (motility) , sessile ...

. One of his descriptions involved the

hexactinellid Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges. They are usually classified along with other sponges in the phylum Porifera, but some researchers consid ...

sponge ''Scolymastra joubini'', a creature from Antarctic waters that is believed to have a lifespan of 10,000 years.

Partial listing of publications

* ''Contribution à l'étude des clionides'', 1888. (Contribution to the study of

Clionaidae Clionaidae is a family of ectoparasitic demosponges which are found worldwide. This group of sponges are well known for boring holes in calcareous material such as mollusc shells and coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the ...

). * ''Resultats des Campagnes Scientifiques Accomplies sur son Yacht par Albert Ier Prince Souvrain de Monaco'', 1892. (Results of the scientific campaign accomplished by Prince Albert I of Monaco). * ''Contribution à l'étude des spongiaires de l'Atlantique North'', 1892. (Contribution to the study of sponges from the North Atlantic). * ''Spongiaires des Açores'', 1904. (Sponges of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

). * ''Expédition Antarctique française 1903-1905, Dr. Jean Charcot commandée par le. Sciences naturelles, documents scientifiques. Spongiaires et coelentérés'', 1908. (1903-1905 French Antarctic Expedition, led by

Jean-Baptiste Charcot Jean-Baptiste Étienne Auguste Charcot, better known in France as Commandant Charcot, (15 July 1867 in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris – 16 September 1936 at sea (30 miles north-west of Reykjavik, Iceland), was a French scientist, medical doctor ...

Natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

, scientific documents. Sponges and

coelenterata Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria (corals, true jellies, sea anemones, sea pens, and their relatives) and Ctenophora (comb jellies). The name comes , referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyla. Th ...

). * ''Spongiaires Nationale De L'Expedition Antarctique Ecossaise'', 1913. (Sponges from the

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robe ...

). * ''Spongiaires provenant campagnes des scientifiques de la Princesse Alice dans les mers du Nord, 1898-1899, 1906-1907'', 1913. (Sponges from scientific cruises of the Princess Alice in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

1898–1899, 1906–1907). * ''Étude de spongiaires du Golfe de Naples'', 1925. (Study of sponges from the

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean ...

). * ''Diagnoses of éponges nouvelles recueillies par le Prince Albert I of Monaco'', 1927. (New diagnoses of sponges collected by Prince Albert I of Monaco). * ''Spongiaires de l'Atlantique et de la Méditerranée des provenant Croisières du Prince Albert I of Monaco'', 1928. (Sponges from the Atlantic and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

cruises of Prince Albert I of Monaco). * ''Aperçu de la faune des Eponges Calcaires de la Méditerranée'', 1934. (Overview on the fauna of

calcareous sponge The calcareous sponges or calcereans are sponges that make up the class Calcarea, characterized by spicules made of calcium carbonate in the form of high-magnesium calcite or aragonite. While the spicules in most species are triradiate (with three ...

s from the Mediterranean).
World Cat Identities, publications * ''Guide pour la connaissance d'éponges de la Méditerranée tableaux de corrections apportées aux mémoires d'O. Schmidt sur le sujet 1862, 1864, 1868'', 1945. (Guide to the knowledge of sponges from the Mediterranean in regards to the work of

Eduard Oscar Schmidt Eduard Oscar Schmidt (21 February 1823, in Torgau – 17 January 1886, in Kappelrodeck) was a German zoologist and phycology, phycologist. Biography He initially studied mathematics and science at University of Halle, Halle, then continued his ...

References

Petymol (taxa)
(biographical information and list of species named after Topsent) * Parts of this article are based on a translation of equivalent articles at the German and French Wikipedia. Scientists from Le Havre 1862 births 1951 deaths French zoologists Spongiologists {{France-zoologist-stub