José Castulo Zeledón (March 24, 1846 – July 16, 1923) was a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. He was the son of Don Manuel Zeledón, governor of the district of San José. José became interested in birds at an early age, and learned about ornithology from the German naturalist and physician Alexander von Frantzius, when he was employed at his pharmacy in San José. Zeledón started collecting birds locally, the specimens being sent to

Jean Cabanis Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist. He worked at the bird collections of the Natural History Museum in Berlin becoming its first curator of birds in 1850. He founded the ''Journal für Ornithologie ...

at the Berlin Museum. In 1868 Frantzius returned to Germany. En route, he took Zeledón to Washington, where Zeledón met

Spencer Fullerton Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He ...

and became an assistant at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. It was here that he began a lifelong friendship with

Robert Ridgway Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds ...

. In 1872 Zeledón returned to Costa Rica as zoologist on an expedition led by

William More Gabb William More Gabb (January 16, 1839 – May 30, 1878) was an American paleontologist. Gabb was born and educated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the leading center of American science at the time. He graduated from Jefferson Grammar School at ...

. During this expedition Zeledón made the first collection of birds in Talamanca. Zeledón took over the pharmacy set up by Frantzius, and this eventually made him a wealthy man. He continued to collect birds when time allowed, donating his collection to the Costa Rican National Museum when it was founded, mainly due to his own efforts. This collection was Zeledón's main contribution to ornithology, as it contained many new species, although these were often described by others. He was also able to assist other ornithologists who visited Costa Rica during his lifetime. Zeledón is commemorated in the scientific names of a number of birds, including the wrenthrush, ''Zeledonia coronata'' and the white-fronted tyrannulet, ''Phyllomyias zeledoni''. Also, a species of snake, '' Geophis zeledoni'', is named in his honor.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Zeledon", p. 293).

Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeledon, Jose Castulo Zeledon Zeledon Zeledon