Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British

zoologist 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 d ...

. Pocock was born in

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton D ...

, the fourth son of Rev.

Nicholas Pocock Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail. Birth and early career at sea Pocock was born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatte ...

and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's School,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He received tutoring in zoology from

Sir Edward Poulton Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, FRS HFRSE FLS (27 January 1856 – 20 November 1943) was a British evolutionary biologist, a lifelong advocate of natural selection through a period in which many scientists such as Reginald Punnett doubted its i ...

, and was allowed to explore comparative anatomy at the Oxford Museum. He studied

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

at University College, Bristol, under Conwy Lloyd Morgan and William Johnson Sollas. In 1885, he became an assistant at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, and worked in the section of

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

for a year. He was put in charge of the collections of

Arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegar ...

a and

Myriapoda Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. The fossil record of myriapods reaches back into the late Silurian ...

. He was also given the task to arrange the British birds collections, in the course of which he developed a lasting interest in ornithology. The 200 papers he published in his 18 years at the museum soon brought him recognition as an authority on Arachnida and Myriapoda; he described between 300 and 400 species of

millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

s alone, and also described the

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

genus '' Brachistosternus''. In 1929, he proposed the family Nandiniidae, with the genus '' Nandinia'' as its sole member. He argued that it differs from the Aeluroidea by the structure and shape of its ear canal and

mastoid part of the temporal bone The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the temporal bone, one of the bones of the skull. Its rough surface gives attachment to various muscles (via tendons) and it has openings for blood vessels. From its borde ...

. In 1904, he left to become superintendent of the

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, ...

, remaining so until his retirement in 1923. He then worked, as a voluntary researcher, in the British Museum, in the mammals department. He described the leopon in a 1912 letter to ''The Field'', based on examination of a skin sent to him by W. S. Millard, the secretary of the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

. His brother Edward Innes Pocock played international rugby for Scotland and was part of Cecil Rhodes'

Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxio ...

. His great grandfather was marine artist Captain

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Works by Reginald Innes Pocock
at the

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Reginald Innes 1863 births 1947 deaths Scientists from Bristol British zoologists Fellows of the Royal Society British arachnologists Zoo directors People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford Myriapodologists Members of the Bombay Natural History Society