Edward J. Miers
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Edward John Miers FZS FLS (1851– 15 October 1930) was a British zoologist and curator of the crustacean collection at the Natural History Museum in London. He contributed to the scientific reports from the ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876, and described 32 new
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
and at least 260 new species and
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of decapod crustaceans, along with four genera and 72 new species in other
orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
.


Biography

Miers was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1851 to the
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
Francis Charles Miers and his wife. His grandfather was the engineer and botanist John Miers, and his younger brother (born 1858) was the mineralogist Sir Henry Alexander Miers. Francis Miers retired in 1860 and left South America for England, where Edward was educated at the Summerfield School, Oxford, before being sent for a year to the Academy in Lausanne (which would later become the University of Lausanne). Miers was appointed curator of the crustacean collections at the Natural History Museum in April or May 1872, taking over from Arthur Gardiner Butler who had been curator of insects, crustaceans, myriapods and arachnids. Miers was charged solely with the Crustacea and "to act as amanuensis to Dr. Gray" ( John Edward Gray). In the 1880s, the Natural History Museum was in the process of moving its collections from the main British Museum site in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
to their new building in South Kensington. During that time, Miers published his ''Catalogue of the stalk- and sessile-eyed Crustacea of New Zealand'' in 1876 and revised the Plagusiinae,
Hippidae Hippidae is a family of decapod crustaceans, currently known by the English name as either mole crab or sand crab, and by an earlier English name as sand bug. They are closely related to the family Albuneidae, with which they are usually joined ...
, Majidae,
Squillidae Squillidae is a family of mantis shrimp, the only family in the superfamily Squilloidea. The type genus is '' Squilla''. It is the stomatopod family with the most genera, as follows: *''Alima'' Leach, 1817 *'' Alimopsis'' Manning, 1977 *'' A ...
and
Idoteidae The Idoteidae are a family (biology), family of isopod crustaceans. It includes these genera: *''Austridotea'' Poore, 2001 *''Batedotea'' Poore & Lew Ton, 1993 *''Cleantiella'' Richardson, 1912 *''Colidotea'' Richardson, 1899 *''Crabyzos'' Bate, ...
in
monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
s dated 1878–1881, based on the museum's collections. He also reported on the collections donated by the
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from a number of voyages, including the survey of the coast of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
by H.M.S. ''Sylvia'' (1870–1877), an expedition to view the Transit of Venus in Kerguelen and
Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...
(1874–1875), a survey of the Galápagos Islands by H.M.S. ''Petrel'',
Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
by H.M.S. ''Isbjorn'' (1879), Baron Hermann-Maltzan's voyage to Gorée in 1881, and the voyages of H.M.S. ''Alert'' to Patagonia and the
Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...
(1881–1882). The upheavals at his workplace and the quantity of work to be done may have taken their toll on Miers, and he was "completely prostrated with illness" for three months. Miers was still working on material from the ''Alert'' expedition, when six boxes containing the
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s from the ''Challenger'' expedition arrived, sent by John Murray. Describing these crabs would be Miers' largest taxonomic work, one which was published in 1886 as ''Report on the Brachyura collected by H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873–1876'' in 1886. Miers' honorarium for this work was £63 (60 guineas; ). Miers tendered his resignation on 30 October 1885. The curation of the crustacean collection was handed to Jeffrey Bell, but Bell only published one paper on crustaceans, and the task of curation was soon shared with
Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward ...
. Miers lived to the age of 79, and died on 15 October 1930 at Burchetts Green, near
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.


Taxa

A number of taxa are named in Miers' honour: *''Miersia'' Kingsley, 1880Caridea: Oplophoridae (name suppressed in favour of '' Acanthephyra'' ) *'' Anchistus miersi'' (De Man, 1888)Caridea: Palaemonidae *''
Metapenaeopsis miersi ''Metapenaeopsis miersi'' is a crustacean species in the family Penaeidae Penaeidae is a family of marine crustaceans in the suborder Dendrobranchiata, which are often referred to as penaeid shrimp or penaeid prawns. The Penaeidae contain many ...
'' Holthuis, 1952
Dendrobranchiata Dendrobranchiata is a suborder of Decapoda, decapods, commonly known as prawns. There are 540 extant species in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian. They differ from related animals, such as Caridea and Stenopodidea ...
: Penaeidae *'' Paraceradocus miersi'' Pfeffer, 1888
Amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...
a:
Maeridae Maeridae is a family of marine amphipods, which was first described by Taudl Krapp-Schickel in 2008. Genera Accepted genera: * '' Anamaera'' Thomas & Barnard, 1985 * '' Anelasmopus'' Oliveira, 1953 * '' Animoceradocus'' G. Karaman, 1984 * '' Au ...
*'' Parthenope miersi'' (A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1898)Brachyura:
Parthenopidae Parthenopidae is a family of crabs, placed in its own superfamily, Parthenopoidea. It comprises nearly 40 genera, divided into two subfamilies, with three genera ''incertae sedis'': ;Daldorfiinae Ng & Rodríguez, 1986 *'' Daldorfia'' Rathbun, ...
*'' Clorida miersi'' Manning 1968
Stomatopoda Mantis shrimp, or stomatopods, are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 340 million years ago. Mantis shrimp typically grow to around in length ...
:
Squillidae Squillidae is a family of mantis shrimp, the only family in the superfamily Squilloidea. The type genus is '' Squilla''. It is the stomatopod family with the most genera, as follows: *''Alima'' Leach, 1817 *'' Alimopsis'' Manning, 1977 *'' A ...
*''
Pseudidothea miersi ''Pseudidothea'' is a genus of crustaceans belonging to the monotypic family Pseudidotheidae. The species of this genus are found in southernmost South Hemisphere. Species: *''Pseudidothea hoplites ''Pseudidothea'' is a genus of crustacean ...
'' (Studer, 1884)
Isopoda Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...
:
Pseudidotheidae ''Pseudidothea'' is a genus of crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amph ...
Taxa named by Miers include: *''
Alpheus novaezealandiae ''Alpheus novaezealandiae'' is a species of shrimp in the family Alpheidae, found in Australasia. ''A. novaezelandiae'' is found around the coasts of New Zealand, Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an i ...
'' – a species of
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
* Hexapodidae – a family of
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s *'' Hippolyte bifidirostris'' – a species of shrimp *'' Justitia mauritiana'' – a species of spiny lobster *'' Paramoera'' – a genus of
amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...
*''
Parathranites ''Parathranites'' is a genus of crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirel ...
'' – a genus of crabs *'' Paratya'' – a genus of shrimp *''
Porcellionides ''Porcellionides'' is a genus of woodlice in the family Porcellionidae Porcellionidae is a terrestrial family of the order Isopoda. This family contains 530 species, found on every continent except Antarctica. The ventral plate of the thora ...
'' – a genus of woodlouse *'' Portunus trituberculatus'' – gazami crab *'' Potamonautes johnstoni'' – a species of terrestrial crab *
Trapeziidae Trapeziidae is a family of crabs, commonly known as coral crabs. All the species in the family are found in a close symbiosis with cnidarians. They are found across the Indo-Pacific, and can best be identified to the species level by the colo ...
– a family of
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s *'' Upogebia danai'' – a species of
mud lobster Thalassinidea is a former infraorder of decapod crustaceans that live in burrows in muddy bottoms of the world's oceans. In Australian English, the littoral thalassinidean '' Trypaea australiensis'' is referred to as the ''yabby'' (a term whic ...


References


External links

* * Available through Internet Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miers, Edward J. 1851 births 1930 deaths English zoologists British carcinologists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Zoological Society of London People educated at Summer Fields School People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Amanuenses