Baron Michel Edmond de Selys Longchamps (25 May 1813 – 11 December 1900) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician and scientist. Selys Longchamps has been regarded as the founding figure of odonatology, the study of the

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

and damselflies. His wealth and influence enabled him to amass one of the finest collections of neuropteroid insects and to describe many species from around the world. His collection is housed in the

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...

Biography

Selys was a wealthy aristocrat born in Paris to Michel Laurent de Selys Longchamps and Marie-Denise Gandolphe. He was educated at home by private tutors and never attended school or university. Nevertheless, he became known as the world's leading authority on

Odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two com ...

as well as an expert on Neuroptera and European Orthoptera. He was also a leading

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. A Liberal Party representative in the

Parliament, he became Councillor for

Waremme Waremme (; nl, Borgworm, ; wa, Wareme) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, in Belgium. The city is located on the River Geer ( nl, Jeker), in the loessic Haspengouw region. The economy is based on the ...

in 1846, entered the Belgian Senate in 1855, and was finally elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parli ...

from 1880 to 1884.Essig 1931Wasscher & Dumont 2013 His early interest in birds is shown by a book of coloured figures of Belgian species painted when he was 16. Ornithology remained a lifelong interest and he assembled an ornithological museum at Waremme, maintaining very large collections of birds, both European and exotic, including a

great auk The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...

and an egg. He was also interested in small

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

. At 18 (1831) he published his first scientific paper, a list of the insects of Liège and in 1837 a list of the dragonflies or

and butterflies and moths or

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

of Belgium. From that date on, a continuous flow of papers on the Odonata appeared. The works were often

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

ic, examples being, 1840 ''Monographie des Libellulides d'Europe'' and 1850 ''Revue des Odonates d'Europe'', two large works on "Gomphines" and "Calopterygines". There were also systematic works containing

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses, tables and keys) of the "Gomphines", Calopterygines", Agrionines", "Cordulines" and (

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

only) "Aeschnines", the only family not so treated being the difficult "Libellulines". There were (very numerous) local faunas for dragonflies (synopses), appendices to travel works,

and morphological notes. Selys met and began a collaboration with

Hermann August Hagen Hermann August Hagen (30 May 1817 – 9 November 1893) was a German entomologist who specialised in Neuroptera The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order ...

in 1845; They jointly produced the Revue and two monographs. Hagen also aided work on the Synopses and sometimes Selys is given as the author in Kirby's catalogue when Hagen is (in many such instances it is clearly stated by Selys that he had never seen the insects and that Hagen was the author). Selys is the properly attributed author of well over 1,000 species, an enormous number compared to Hagen and more than half of known species. Aware of being an "homme distrait" (distracted man), Selys often affixed names to undescribed species in his collection (

nomina nuda In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate descr ...

). This led to much later nomenclatural confusion. Selys was an inveterate traveller, spending long periods in most European countries and being an honorary member of almost all European entomological societies including the

Royal Entomological Society 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 Londo ...

which so honoured him in 1871. He helped to found the Société Entomologique de Belgique in 1856. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1873. He amassed the greatest collection of Neuroptera and Orthoptera in the world, incorporating the collections of

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom ...

, Jules Pièrre Rambur,

Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville (; his name, before the Revolution, included a particle: Audinet de Serville) was a French entomologist, born on 11 November 1775 in Paris. He died on 27 March 1858 in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre. He was introduced to ...

, and

Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville, also known as F. E. Guerin, (12 October 1799, in Toulon – 26 January 1874, in Paris) was a French entomologist. Life and work Guérin-Méneville changed his surname from Guérin in 1836. He was the author of ...

, and wrote over 250 papers some of which are masterworks. His collection is in the

, although there are de Selys

types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allo ...

in many other museums, including the

Hope Department of Entomology The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

, University of Oxford. He died at Liège.

Honours

* : 1882: Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold. * : Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. * : Commander in the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

Works

Selys published over 250 works on entomology, ornithology and other topics in natural history: ;Odonata *1840. ''Monographie des Libellulidées d'Europe'' Brussels, 220 pages. *1842. ''Faune Belge'' *1850 with

. Revue des odonates ou Libellules d'Europe. ''Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liége'' 6:1–408. Downloadable at Gallic

*1853. Synopsis des Calopterygines. ''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' (1)20:1–73 (reprint 1–73). *1854
Synopsis des Gomphines
''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' 21:23–114. *1854
Monographie des Calopterygines
''Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liége'' 9:1–292 *1858
Monographie des Gomphines
''Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liége'' 11:257–713 *1862
Synopsis des agrionines, seconde légion: Lestes
''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' (2)13:288–338 (reprint 1–54). *1871
Synopsis des Cordulines
''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' (2)31:238–316;519-565. *1876
Synopsis des agrionines, cinquième légion: Agrion (suite). Le grand genre Agrion
''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' (2) 41:247–322, 496–539, 1233–1309 (reprint 1–199). *1883
Synopsis des Aeschnines. Première partie: Classification
''Bulletin de l'Académie royale des Sciences de Belgique'' 3(5):712–748. ;Birds *Observations sur les phénomènes périodique du règne animal, et particulièrement sur les migrations des oiseaux en Belgique, de 1841 à 1846 ''Mémoires de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique'' 2
pdf from GDZ
;General *''Faune belge. Première partie. Indication méthodique des mammifères, oiseaux, reptiles et poissons, observés jusqu'ici en Belgique''. Faune Belge i–xii + 1–310 (1842)

Notes

References

English * * French * Coen, J., ''Michel-Edmond de Selys-Longchamps 1813–1900. Gentilhomme et démocrate'', 1982, 217 p. *N.N., ''A la mémoire de Michel Edmond Baron de Selys-Longchamps 1813–1900'', Liège, Impr. H. Vaillart-Carmanne, 1901, 51 p. * Yans, M., ''L'Atavisme d'un grand parlementaire de Léopold II : Michel Edmond Baron de Selys-Longchamps'', in : Cahiers Léopoldiens, New Series, 1959–1960, nr. 7, p. 59. *Nicole Caulier-Mathy en Nicole Haesenne-Peremans, 2008 ''Une vie au fil des jours.Journal d’un notable politicien et naturaliste, Michel-Edmond de Selys-Longchamps (1823–1900)'', 2 vol., LXV-1747 p., 25 ill., 2 genealogische tafels.(Collectie Groot in-8°).

External links

Partial bibliographyUniversity of Liége A life day by dayVirtual collection of illustrations by Selys and Severin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selys Longchamps, Edmond De 1813 births 1900 deaths 19th-century Belgian zoologists Belgian lepidopterists Belgian entomologists Belgian ornithologists Odonatologists Presidents of the Senate (Belgium)