Domenico Agostino Vandelli (

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 8 July 1735 –

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, 27 June 1816) was an Italian naturalist, who did most of his scientific work in Portugal. He studied at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

, from which he received a doctorate in Natural Philosophy and Medicine in 1756. While active as naturalist in Italy he began a correspondence with the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné, which continued for several years. In 1763 he was invited by

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

of Russia to join the faculty of the University of St. Petersburg, but he declined. In 1764 Vandelli moved to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, where in 1765 he was appointed lecturer in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and

natural sciences Natural 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 review and repeat ...

at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

. He was the first supervisor for the orientation of the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, being followed in 1791 by

Félix Avelar Brotero Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

. One of his major works he published was the ''Tractatus de thermis agri patavini'' in 1761. In about 1793 he became the first director of the Botanical Gardens at the

Palácio da Ajuda The Palace of Ajuda ( pt, Palácio da Ajuda, ) is a Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in the civil parish of Ajuda in the city of Lisbon, central Portugal. Built on the site of a temporary wooden building constructed to house the Ro ...

. He was one of the mentors of the Sciences Academy of Lisbon. Domenico Agostino Vandelli should not be confused with Domenico Vandelli (1691-1754), an Italian

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 ...

, scientist, and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Contributions to zoology

In the field of

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and ...

he is known for having described the world's largest living turtle, the

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

(''

Dermochelys coriacea The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

'') and an amphisbaenian, ''

Blanus cinereus The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (''Blanus cinereus'') is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia. The Iberian worm lizard is locally known as ''cobra-cega' ...

''. His contributions to zoology have been recognized by another species of ''Blanus'' named after him, ''Blanus vandellii,'' (although he is cited in the description as Domingos Vandelli).

References

Italian naturalists 18th-century Italian zoologists 1735 births 1816 deaths Italian herpetologists University of Coimbra faculty 18th-century Italian botanists 19th-century Italian botanists 19th-century Italian zoologists {{Italy-botanist-stub