Félix Guignot was French a physician and entomologist, born 16 November 1882 in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. After studying medicine at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

he established a

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

in his hometown of Avignon. He practiced family medicine and

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

. The region around Avignon provided many excellent opportunities to collect water beetles, including large rivers and the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ''P ...

wetlands. His first entomological article, the description of '' Siettitia avenionensis'', was published in 1925 in the Bulletin of the Entomological Society of France. Guignot found the specimen for this description in a basin of water pumped from a farm well, which he had requested while delivering a baby at the farm. Through his publications of 188 articles Guignot became a recognized expert on hydradephagan water beetles. His classic work, ''The Hydrocanthares of France'', won the 1932 Dollfus prize of the

Entomological Society of France Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. His contributions to science include the description of 514 new species, as well as his entomological collection, which is now housed in the French

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. Guignot was a founding member of the ''Société d’étude des Sciences naturelles de Vaucluse''. He served as president of this society for nearly 31 years between 1929 and 1950.

Some publications

1947, Coléoptères hydrocanthares

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guignot, Felix French entomologists French obstetricians 1882 births 1959 deaths Physicians from Avignon University of Montpellier alumni 20th-century French zoologists