Max Fernand Leon Poll (21 July 1908 in Ruisbroek – 13 March 1991 in

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...

) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

who specialised in the

Cichlidae Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted thi ...

. In the years 1946 and 1947 he organised an expedition to

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

. He has described several

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Pseudocrenilabrinae The Pseudocrenilabrinae are a subfamily in the cichlid family of fishes to which, according to a study from 2004, includes all the Middle Eastern and African cichlids with the exception of the unusual '' Heterochromis multidens'' and the Malaga ...

, such as ''

Lamprologus signatus ''Lamprologus signatus'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika where it prefers deep waters over muddy substrates. This species is a shell dweller. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the aquarium ...

'', '' Steatocranus casuarius'', ''

Neolamprologus brichardi ''Neolamprologus brichardi'' is a species of cichlid endemic to the alkaline waters of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. It is a popular aquarium fish kept in the fishkeeping hobby, where it is known under a variety of common names including Prin ...

'', and ''

Neolamprologus pulcher ''Neolamprologus pulcher'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika where it prefers locations with plenty of sedimentation. The common name for ''N. pulcher'' is the daffodil cichlid. This species can reach a length of TL. It can ...

''. He was a member of

The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at Université Libre de Bruxelles, and conservator at Musée Royal du Congo Belge in

Tervuren Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...

. He was an honorary member of the

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international learned society devoted to the scientific studies of ichthyology (study of fish) and herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). The primary emphases of the ...

Taxon named in his honor

Named after him are species and

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

such as: *The African Lanternshark '' Etmopterus polli'' Bigelow,

Schroeder __NOTOC__ Schroeder is a North German (from Schröder) occupational name for a cloth cutter or tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German , "to cut". The same term was occasionally used to denote a gristmiller as well as a shoemaker, w ...

& S. Springer, 1953, *''

Merluccius polli ''Merluccius polli'', the Benguela hake, is a species of fish from the family Merlucciidae, the true hakes. It is found in the tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa. Description ''Merluccius polli'' has a lar ...

'' Cadenat, 1950, *''

Pollichthys The stareye lightfish (''Pollichthys mauli'') is a species in the monotypic genus of ''Pollichthys''. They are small stomiiform fishes found in oceans throughout the world. The maximum length is 6 cm. Etymology The genus is named after the ...

'' Grey, 1959, *''

Polyipnus polli ''Polyipnus polli'', commonly known as the round hatchetfish, is a species of Neopterygii, ray-finned fish in the family (biology), family Sternoptychidae. It occurs in deep water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, at depths between about . Etymolog ...

'' Schultz, 1961, *The Catfish ''

Microsynodontis polli ''Microsynodontis polli'' is a species of upside-down catfish native to Guinea from the Gbin River and Liberia from Saint John. This species grows to a length of TL. Etymology The catfish is named in honor of ichthyologist Max Poll Max Fern ...

'' J. G. Lambert, 1958,. *The African Catfish ''

Synodontis polli ''Synodontis polli'', known as Poll's synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian ...

'' Gosse, 1982.''Synodontis polli''
- planetcatfish.com *''

Placidochromis polli ''Placidochromis polli'' is a species of cichlid endemic to the southern portions of Lake Malawi where it prefers areas with muddy or sandy substrates at depths of greater than . This species can reach a length of SL. Etymology Its specific ...

'' ( W. E. Burgess & H. R. Axelrod, 1973) *The African Tetra'' Phenacogrammus polli'' J. G. Lambert, 1961.

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Max Poll

References

1908 births 1991 deaths Belgian ichthyologists 20th-century Belgian zoologists People from Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) faculty {{zoologist-stub