Giuseppe Seguenza (June 8, 1833 in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

– February 3, 1889 in Messina) was an Italian naturalist and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Early life

Giuseppe Seguenza was born on June 8, 1833, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Because his father expected him to follow in his footsteps and become a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

, Seguenza studied under his father, who also owned his own pharmacy. Later, Seguenza chose to study the

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

and

mineralogical Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

sciences.

Scientific research

At the age of 23, Giuseppe Seguenza discovered that all the products of the emanations of

Vulcano Vulcano ( scn, Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and c ...

(one of the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after ...

) contained

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

compounds. Afterward, he published other scientific works that earned him the attention of scholars in Europe and the silver medal at the Paris Exposition. He was appointed Professor of Natural History at the Maurolico School, then the Technical Institute of Messina, and finally earned a professorship at the

University of Messina The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the world ...

. There followed other work around the metalliferous deposits of

Fiumedinisi Fiumedinisi ( Sicilian: ''Ciumidinisi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Fiumedinisi borders the following municipa ...

, land and fossils of the territory of Messina, and

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, which were awarded and published at his own expense by the Royal Academy of the Lincei. In 1868 he introduced the Zanclean stage to define the early part of the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58sea snails Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, known as '' Seguenzia'' (family

Seguenziidae Seguenziidae is a family of very small deepwater sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Seguenzioidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Bouchet, P. (2012). Seguenziidae. Accessed through ...

), was named in his honor.

Family and legacy

Giuseppe Seguenza died at the age of 58 and his son, Luigi Seguenza, continued forward his work. Luigi is known for having defined the taxonomy for ''

Calliotropis ''Calliotropis'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Eucyclidae. Taxonomy According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005) the genus ''Calliotropis'' is placed in the subfamily Calliot ...

'', a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

s. One of the three science high schools in Messina, ''Liceo Scientifico G. Seguenza'', is named after Giuseppe. The museum of modern people of ''Nizza di Sicilia'' is also dedicated to him.

Selected works

* ''Disquisizioni paleontologiche intorno ai corallarii fossili delle rocce terziarie del distretto di Messina'', 1863. * ''Paleontologia malacologica dei terreni terziarii del distretto di Messina'', 1865. * ''Le formazioni Terziarie nella Provincia di Reggio (Calabria)'', 1877 – Tertiary formations in the

Province of Reggio Calabria The Province of Reggio Calabria ( it, Provincia di Reggio Calabria) was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital ...

. * ''Studi geologici e paleontologici sul cretaceo medio dell'Italia meridionale'', 1878 – Geological and paleontological studies on the

Middle Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

of southern Italy.Most widely held works by Giuseppe Seguenza
at WorldCat Identities

References

External links

Messina Ieri e Oggi
(biography in Italian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Seguenza, Giuseppe 19th-century Italian geologists Italian naturalists Italian paleontologists 1889 deaths 1833 births Scientists from Messina University of Messina faculty