Marie Félix Albert Durand de Grossouvre (23 August 1849,

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

– 18 May 1932, Bourges) was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, best known for his research in the fields of

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

and

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Biography

He studied at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the

École des Mines de Paris Mines Paris - PSL, officially École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (until May 2022 Mines ParisTech, also known as École des mines de Paris, ENSMP, Mines de Paris, les Mines, or Paris School of Mines), is a French grande école and a c ...

, and afterwards worked as a mining engineer in his hometown of Bourges. In 1889 he attained the post of chief mining engineer. He conducted stratigraphic investigations throughout France, and in the process, uncovered numerous fossils, most notably

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

s. As a

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

, he participated in the creation of geological maps of central France (

Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east o ...

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Ch ...

Valençay Valençay () is a commune in the Indre department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley. It sits at the end of a plateau. on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon. Valen ...

).Sociétés savantes de France
biography in French
at Annales.org In 1878 he was one of the founders of the ''Société scientifique, historique et archéologique de la Corrèze''. He was an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and in 1913 became a correspondent member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

(mineralogy section). In 1894 he circumscribed the ammonite subfamily

Acanthoceratinae The Acanthoceratinae comprise a subfamily of ammonoid cephalopods that lived during the Late Cretaceous from the latter early Cenomanian to the late Turonian Shells are evolute, tuberculate and ribbed, with subquadrate to squarish whorl sectio ...

. He was also the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

of the ammonite genera '' Barroisiceras'', ''

Gaudryceras ''Gaudryceras'' is an ammonite genus belonging to the family Gaudryceratidae. These cephalopods were fast-moving nektonic carnivores. They lived in the Cretaceous period, from Albian to Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geo ...

'', ''

Hauericeras ''Hauericeras'' is an ammonite genus from the Late Cretaceous that lived from the Coniacian to the late Maastrichtian, from about 90 to 66 mya. Fossils have been found in Europe, Russia, South Africa, Australia, India, Iraq, and in the United Sta ...

'', '' Kossmaticeras'' and '' Peroniceras''.

Published works

His major work on stratigraphy and paleontology, "''Recherches sur la craie supérieure''" (1893–1901) was published in two volumes (4 tomes). In 1911 he authored a book on the history of Bourges, titled "''Le vieux Bourges''". His other noteworthy written efforts include: * ''Etude sur les gisements de phosphate de chaux du centre de la France'', 1885 – Study on the deposits of

phosphate of lime Calcium pyrophosphate (Ca2P2O7) is a chemical compound, an insoluble calcium salt containing the pyrophosphate anion. There are a number of forms reported: an anhydrous form, a dihydrate, Ca2P2O7·2H2O and a tetrahydrate, Ca2P2O7·4H2O. Deposition ...

in central France. * ''Etude sur les gisements de minerai de fer du centre de la France'', 1886 – Study on the deposits of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

in central France. * ''Sur le terrain crétacé dans le Sud-Ouest du bassin de Paris'', 1889 – On the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

strata southwest of the

Paris Basin The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in the cr ...

. * ''Contributions à la stratigraphie des Pyrénées'', 1892 – Contributions to the stratigraphy of the

Pyrénées The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. * ''Sur l'Ammonites peramplus et quelques autres fossiles Turoniens'', 1899 – On ammonites and some other

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...

fossils. * ''Sur quelques fossiles Crétacés de Madagascar'', 1899 – On some fossils from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. * ''Crétacé de la Touraine et du Maine'', 1900 – The Cretaceous strata of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. * ''Etude paleogéographique sur le détroit de Poitiers'', 1901 – Paleontological study on the strait of

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

. * ''Sur le crétacé des Corbières'', 1912 – On the Cretaceous strata of the

Corbières Massif The Corbières Massif (Catalan: ''Corberes''; french: Massif des Corbières, ) is a mountain range in the Pre-Pyrenees. It is the only true foothill of the Pyrenees on their northern side. Geography The Corbières are a mountain region in the ...

.IDREF.fr
lengthy bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossouvre, Albert de 1849 births 1932 deaths Scientists from Bourges French geologists French paleontologists Mining engineers