Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. The son of an employee of the

Museum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

s in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Under the direction of

Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent Jean-Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin Bory de Saint-Vincent was a French naturalist, officer and politician. He was born on 6 July 1778 in Agen ( Lot-et-Garonne) and died on 22 December 1846 in Paris. Biologist and geographer, he was particularl ...

(1778–1846), he took part in the Morea expedition to Peloponnese. He classified numerous

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...

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 appropriat ...

with

André Marie Constant Duméril André Marie Constant Duméril (1 January 1774 – 14 August 1860) was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology. Hi ...

(1774–1860), whom he had met in 1832. Duméril was interested mainly in the relations between genera, and he left to Bibron the task of describing the species. Working together they produced the ''Erpétologie Générale'', a comprehensive account of the reptiles, published in ten volumes from 1834 to 1854. Also, Bibron assisted Duméril with teaching duties at the museum and was an instructor at a primary school in Paris. Bibron contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

and retired in 1845 to

Saint-Alban-les-Eaux Saint-Alban-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Death place of Gabriel Bibron (1845). Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 323 communes of the Loire departmen ...

, where he died at the age of 42.

Taxa named in honor of Bibron

Bibron is commemorated in the scientific names of ten species of reptiles.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Bibron", p. 25). *''

Afrotyphlops bibronii Bibron's blind snake (''Afrotyphlops bibronii)'' is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to southern Africa. Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised editio ...

'', a

blind snake The Scolecophidia, commonly known as blind snakes or thread snakes, are an infraorder of snakes. They range in length from . All are fossorial (adapted for burrowing). Five families and 39 genera are recognized. The Scolecophidia infraorder is mos ...

*''

Atractaspis bibroni :''Common names: Southern stiletto snake'','' Bibron's stiletto snake'','' Side-stabbing snake'','' previously known'' ''as Bibron's burrowing asp,Spawls, Stephen; Branch, Bill (1995). ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Dubai: Oriental Press / R ...

'', a venomous snake *''

Calliophis bibroni ''Calliophis bibroni'', commonly known as Bibron's coral snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to India. Etymology The specific name, ''bibroni'', is in honor of Gabriel Bibron (1806–1848), Fre ...

'', a venomous snake *''

Candoia bibroni ''Candoia bibroni'', commonly known as Bibron's bevel-nosed boa, Bibron's keel-scaled boa, the Pacific tree boa, or the Fiji boa, Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . is a boa speci ...

'', a boa *''

Chondrodactylus bibronii ''Chondrodactylus bibronii'', commonly known as Bibron's thick-toed gecko, Bibron's sand gecko, or simply Bibron's gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa. ''C. bibronii'' has been used as ...

'', a gecko *''

Diplolaemus bibronii ''Diplolaemus bibronii'', commonly known as Bibron's iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Leiosauridae. It is native to Argentina and Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. ...

'', a lizard *'' Enyalius bibronii'', a lizard *'' Eutropis bibronii'', a

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. ...

*'' Liolaemus bibronii'', a lizard *'' Pelochelys bibroni'', a turtle An eleventh species, which was more commonly known as ''Agama impalearis'', had been named '' Agama bibronii'' by André Marie Constant Duméril in 1851, however a decision by the ICZN in 1971 confirmed that the correct name was ''A. bibroni''.

References

External links

SSARHerps
(biography). 1805 births 1848 deaths French zoologists French herpetologists National Museum of Natural History (France) people Scientists from Paris Tuberculosis deaths in France 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis {{France-zoologist-stub