Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider
taxonomist
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 give ...
in history, describing over 4,000 species.
Work on spiders
His most significant work was ''Histoire Naturelle des Araignées'' (1892–1903), an encyclopedic treatment of the spider genera of the world. It was published in two volumes of more than 1000 pages each, and the same number of drawings by Simon. Working at the
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, it took Simon 11 years to complete, while working at the same time on devising a taxonomic scheme that embraced the known taxa. Simon described a total of 4,650 species, and as of 2013 about 3,790 species are still considered valid. The
International Society of Arachnology
The International Society of Arachnology (ISA) promotes the study of arachnids and the exchange of information among researchers in this field. It acts as an umbrella organisation for regional societies and individuals interested in spiders, and ...
offers a Simon Award recognising lifetime achievement.
The
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
Simon also had an interest in hummingbirds. He described several species and races as well as creating the genera '' Anopetia'', ''
Stephanoxis
The two plovercrests comprise the genus ''Stephanoxis''. They were formerly considered conspecific under the name "black-breasted plovercrest".
Species
The SACC accepted both as distinct species in 2015. The two species are:
References
*
...
'', ''
Haplophaedia
''Haplophaedia'' is a small genus of hummingbirds, which – together with the members of the genus ''Eriocnemis'' – are known as pufflegs. They are found at low levels in humid forest, woodland and shrub at altitudes of 1200 to 3100 m. Above ...
'' and '' Taphrolesbia''. He is commemorated by race ''simoni'' of the
swallow-tailed hummingbird
The swallow-tailed hummingbird (''Eupetomena macroura'') is a species in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae), found mainly in east-central South America. Most authorities place it in the genus '' Eupetomena'', although some place it in '' Campy ...
(''Eupetomena macroura''). His seminal work on hummingbirds was ''Histoire Naturelle des Trochilidae'' in 1921.
Work on plants
Simon's contributions to botany formed a relatively minor part of his work, and he should not be confounded with the French botanist