Gustave Frédéric Dollfus (26 November 1850,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 6 November 1931, Paris) was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

malacologist Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...

. He was the father of parasitologist

Robert-Philippe Dollfus Robert-Philippe Dollfus (20 July 1887 in Paris, France – 19 February 1976 in Paris, France) was a French zoologist and parasitologist. Stunkard, H.W. 1977. In Memoriam Robert-Philippe Dollfus (1887–1976). Journal of Parasitology 63: 706 & ...

(1887–1976). In 1868–70 he studied geology under Edmond Hébert at the Sorbonne, then continued his education in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

as a pupil of Jules Gosselet. In 1879 he began work at the ''Service de la carte géologique de la France'' (Department of French geological cartography).Annales des Mines
(biography) He was twice chosen as president of the ''Société de géologie de France'' (1896 and 1916). In 1923 he was awarded the

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

by the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. His name is associated with several species of mollusk, an example being '' Chrysallida dollfusi'', a

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

described by

Wilhelm Kobelt Wilhelm Kobelt (20 February 1840 – 26 March 1916) was a German zoologist born in Alsfeld, Grand Duchy of Hesse. He specialized in the field of malacology. Kobelt was born in Alsfeld to parish priest Wilhelm (1809–74) and Auguste (1815–97) ...

in 1903. The

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

lists 272 marine species named by Dollfus.

Research

Among his various geological studies was analysis of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

and

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

in the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

(mid-1870s). From his research of the Aquitanian stage, he published an important essay titled "''Essai sur l'étage Aquitanien''" (1909). With

Philippe Dautzenberg Philippe Dautzenberg (20 December 1849, in Ixelles, Brussels – 9 May 1935, in Paris) was a Belgian malacologist, a biologist who specializes in the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with mollusks. He was an amateur and autodidacticism, ...

, he was co-author of the voluminous "''Conchyliologie du Miocéne moyen du Bassin de la Loire''" (

Conchology Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...

in regard to the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

basin). Other significant works by Dollfus include: * ''Principes de géologie transformiste, application de la théorie de l'évolution à la géologie'', 1874 - Principles of geological transformism, application of the theory of evolution to geology. * ''Essai sur l'extension des terrains tertiaires dans le bassin anglo-parisien'', 1880 - Essay on the extension of Tertiary terrain in the Anglo-Paris basin. * ''Esquisse des terrains tertiaires de la Normandie'', 1880 - Sketch involving the Tertiary terrain of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. * , 1888 - Descriptions of new coquilles in the faluns of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

. * ''Recherches géologiques sur les environs de Vichy (Allier)'', 1894 - Geological research on the environs of

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

(

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

). * ''Mollusques tertiaires du Portugal'', 1909 - Terrestrial mollusks of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

.OCLC Classify
(publications)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dollfus, Gustave Frederic 1850 births 1931 deaths Scientists from Paris French geologists French malacologists Conchologists Lyell Medal winners