Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey (1834–1857) was an English born naturalist, surgeon and explorer. After achieving qualifications in Chemistry and at the Royal College of Surgeons, Elsey joined the North Australian Exploring Expedition, led by

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

, that was under taken in 1856. His notes on three novel specimens of birds were published by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

, and commemorated in the naming of a plant species, '' Ripogonum elseyanum'', by Ferdinand von Mueller. The description by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

of a new

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of turtles, ''

Elseya ''Elseya'' is a genus of large side-necked turtles, commonly known as Australian snapping turtles, in the family Chelidae. Species in the genus ''Elseya'' are found in river systems in northern and northeastern Australia and throughout the river ...

'', also honours Elsey's contributions as a field worker collecting records of Australian flora and fauna. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Elsey, p. 83).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsey, Joseph Ravenscroft 1834 births 1857 deaths English natural history collectors