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 languag ...
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 ...
of
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'', ''
Steatocranus casuarius'', ''
Neolamprologus brichardi'', 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 language, 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 ...
& 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 la ...
''
Cadenat, 1950,
*''
Pollichthys''
Grey, 1959,
*''
Polyipnus polli
''Polyipnus polli'', commonly known as the round hatchetfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae. It occurs in deep water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, at depths between about .
Etymology
The fish is named in honor o ...
''
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 Fer ...
''
J. G. Lambert, 1958,.
*The African Catfish ''
Synodontis polli''
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