Mario Giacinto Peracca (21 November 1861,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

– 23 May 1923,

) was an Italian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

. He discovered

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

through his father, an amateur ornithologist. He started taking medical classes at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

, with his studies eventually turning to zoology. In 1886, he obtained his degree from the university under the direction of

Michele Lessona Michele Lessona (20 September 1823, Venaria Reale, Piedmont – 20 July 1894, Turin) was an Italian zoologist. Michele Lessona became a specialist in amphibians. His accomplishments include the translation of certain works of Darwin, for examp ...

(1823-1894). After graduation, he remained in Turin as an assistant to Lessona, and later

Lorenzo Camerano Lorenzo Camerano (9 April 1856 Biella – 22 November 1917 Turin) was an Italian herpetologist and entomologist. Born in Biella in 1856 he studied in Bologna and Torino, where he settled in order to take, between 1871 and 1873, a painting cour ...

(1856-1917), at the zoological institute. Here he worked until his retirement in 1920. At the zoological institute, he served as

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of herpetological collections. Among the specimens at the museum were reptiles and amphibians that were produced at his estate, where he kept a large temperature-controlled

vivarium A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...

with tropical plants, containing animals that included giant

salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

and Galapagos tortoises. Many of his written works dealt with herpetological collections from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and Africa (including

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

), with some publications on specimens from Italy, the Middle East, China and Australia. He was the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

of numerous reptile and amphibian species, and has several species named after him, such as Peracca's clawed frog (''Xenopus clivii)'', '' Mantidactylus peraccae'', '' Anolis peraccae'',Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Peracca", p. 202). and '' Lepidoblepharis peraccae'', the latter three species being described by his friend, George Albert Boulenger (1858–1937).

Publications

*''Descrizione di nuove specie di Rettili e Anfibi di Madagascar'', 1892. *''Viaggio del Dr. Enrico Festa nella Repubblica dell'Ecuador e regioni vicine. VI. Rettili'', 1897. *''Viaggio del Dr. Enrico Festa nell'Ecuador e regioni vicine. Rettili ed Anfibi'', 1904. *"The Life and Herpetological Contributions of Mario Giacinto Peracca (1861-1923)", Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 2007, 570 pp.Google Books
The Life and Herpetological Contributions of Mario Giacinto Peracca (1861-1923).

References

External links

SSARHerps
(biography). {{DEFAULTSORT:Peracca, Mario Giacinto Italian zoologists Scientists from Turin University of Turin alumni 1861 births 1923 deaths

Publications

See also

References

External links