Edward Mason Janson (1847

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen E ...

– 1880

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

) was a British entomologist who lived and worked in

. Janson was the oldest son of

Edward Wesley Janson Edward Wesley Janson (14 March 1822 - 14 September 1891) was an England, English entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. The Janson family was of Netherlands, Dutch origin and Edward Wesley Janson's father was the London Agent of the Dutch Rh ...

(1822–1891) and Emily Mason, who were married on 25 December 1846 at

Highgate, London Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

. Janson's father Edward Snr. worked as a railway clerk, later as an accountant, and became an entomologist in the early 1850s, with two of his sons Edward and Oliver following him into the pursuit. Edward Mason Janson became a member of the

Entomological Society of London The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of London ...

in 1869, listed as living in Las Lajas, Chontales, Nicaragua. For his regular job Janson worked as a mining engineer.

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

material Janson collected in Chontales was examined by

Henry Walter Bates Henry Walter Bates (8 February 1825, in Leicester – 16 February 1892, in London) was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the rainforests of ...

and David Sharp for Frederick Godman and Osbert Salvin's project

Biologia Centrali-Americana The ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' is an encyclopedia of the natural history of Mexico and Central America, privately issued in 215 parts from 1879 to 1915 by the editors Frederick DuCane Godman and Osbert Salvin, of the British Museum (Natural ...

. Janson died at the age of 33 in Nicaragua, leaving a young family.

Taxonomic names in honour of E.M. Janson

Biologia_Centrali-Americana_-_Edessa_jansoni

The

Coreoidea Coreoidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha which includes leaf-footed bugs and allies. There are more than 3,300 described species in Coreoidea. There are five extant families presently recognized, but the Coreoide ...

species ''Mozena jansoni'', originally described as 'Mictis (?) jansoni' by

John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...

in 1882, was named in honour of Janson.

William Lucas Distant William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distantspecies:B.R. Subba Rao, Rao, B.R ...

named the

Pentatomidae Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert G ...

species ''Edessa jansoni'' in 1881 from a specimen collected by Janson in Chontales. The

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

species ''Gyrophaena jansoni'' was described by David Sharp from a single male example collected by Janson in Chontales.

References

{{Authority control British entomologists 1847 births 1880 deaths Entomologists