Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet (26 August 1809 – 9 October 1892) was a French
naturalist, born in Lays,
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.[Algeria
)
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...]
, primarily as a natural artist, drawing any natural findings. He collected specimens in the
Canary Islands,
Guatemala and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
He had a particular interest in
molluscs
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...
and was recognised as a leading expert in the field.
Morelet married Noémie de Folin, sister of
Léopold de Folin. Morelet died of natural causes in 1892, in
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
.
Taxa described
Morelet described various taxa, including:
* ''
Cyclophorus horridulum'' (Morelet, 1882) - a species of
land snail
* ''
Crocodylus moreletii'' (Morelet, 1850) - a crocodile
Taxa named in his honour
Taxa named in honour of Arthur Morelet include:
* ''
Agalychnis moreletii
Morelet's tree frog (''Agalychnis moreletii''), also known as black-eyed leaf frog and popeye hyla, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Its natural habitats ...
'' (
A.M.C. Duméril, 1853) –
Morelet's Treefrog
* ''
Crocodylus moreletii'' (
A.H.A. Duméril &
Bibron, 1851) –
Morelet's Crocodile
Morelet's crocodile ''(Crocodylus moreletii)'', also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in fresh waters of the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about ...
[Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Morelet", pp. 182-183).]
* ''
Mesaspis moreletii'' (
Bocourt, 1871) –
Morelet's alligator lizard
* ''
Ommatoiulus moreletii'' (Lucas, 1860) –
Portuguese millipede
*
''Sporophila morelleti'' (
Bonaparte, 1850) –
Morelet's seedeater
Morelet's seedeater (''Sporophila morelleti'') is a passerine bird in the typical seedeater genus ''Sporophila''.
Taxonomy
This species was formerly considered conspecific with the cinnamon-rumped seedeater (''Sporophila torqueola''), with the ...
["Fifty-ninth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds", '' The Auk'' 135: 798-813, at p. 809. . For a full taxonomic history of this species with copious references, see R. Wright]
"Sharpe's Pygmy Finch"
''Birding New Jersey'', June 22, 2018.
Gastropods:
* ''
Clavator moreleti
''Clavator moreleti'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Acavidae.
This species is endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madaga ...
'' Crosse & Fischer, 1868
* ''
Conus moreleti
''Conus moreleti'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.
Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "sting ...
'' Crosse, 1858
* ''
Edentulina moreleti
''Edentulina moreleti'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Streptaxidae.
Distribution
''Edentulina moreleti'' is endemic to the Seychelles.Gerlach J. & Bruggen A. C. van (1999 ...
'' (Adams, 1868)
* ''
Leidyula moreleti
''Leidyula moreleti'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, shell-less terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Veronicellidae.
Distribution
Distribution of ''Leidyula moreleti'' include:
* MexicoNaranjo-García E., Thomé J. W ...
'' (Fischer, 1871)
* ''
Letourneuxia moreleti
''Letourneuxia nyctelia'' is a species of terrestrial slug, a gastropod mollusc, belonging to the family Arionidae.
Taxonomy
For many years this species was known as ''Letourneuxia numidica'', described by Bourguignat from Algeria. The other sp ...
'' (P. Hesse, 1884)
* ''
Onoba moreleti
''Onoba moreleti'' is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc or micromollusk in the family Rissoidae
Rissoidae is a large family of very small and minute sea snails with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the supe ...
'' Dautzenberg, 1889
* ''
Patella moreleti'' Drouet, 1858
Bibliography
* Morelet A. (1845). ''Description des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles du Portugal''. pp.
–3 I–VII, 1–116, Pl. I–XIV. Paris. (Bailliere)
scan* Morelet A. (1860). ''Iles Açores. Notice sur l'histoire naturelle des Açores suivie d'une description des mollusques terrestres de cet archipel.'
scan
References
External links
*
1809 births
1892 deaths
French zoologists
French malacologists
People from Doubs
{{France-zoologist-stub