Richard Parnell FRSE MWS (1810–28 October 1882) was a British physician as well as an amateur zoologist, ichthyologist and agrostologist. He gives his name to Parnell's moustached bat. The grass ''Parnelli'' is also named after him. He was born at Bramford Speke in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in 1810 the son of John Ratcliffe Parnell (1774-1826). He went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1834 to study medicine. He won Professor Robert Graham's gold medal for practical botany and Professor John Lizars' silver medal for anatomy. On 8 February 1836 he was one of the founding members of the Edinburgh Botanical Society. He finished his medical training with postgraduate study in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

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. In 1837 (aged 27) he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Sir William Jardine. From April 1839 well into 1840 he collected specimens in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and the West Indies, taking extensive notes and making many illustrations. He also made a tour of the museum collections of the United States. He returned to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in the 1850s living in the

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

area at 7 James Place. He was married to a daughter of James Curle of Evelaw. He died at home, 17 Merchiston Avenue in west

on 28 October 1882. His collection of fish is held by the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

Publications

*''Essay on the Natural and Economic History of the Fishes (Marine, Fluviatile and Lacustrine) of the River District of the Firth of Forth'' (1838) *''The Grasses of Britain'' vol 1 (1842) *''The Grasses of Britain'' vol 2 (1845)

References

External links

* * 1810 births 1882 deaths Medical doctors from Exeter Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British botanists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scientists from Edinburgh {{UK-bio-stub