Léon Gaston Seurat (1872–1949) was a French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...

known for his investigations of fauna native to

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

and northern Africa. In 1899 he submitted his graduate thesis on entomophagous

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

to the faculty of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, afterwards (1902–05) working as a naturalist in the South Seas, most notably in the

Tuamotu The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...

and

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

.IDREF.fr
bibliography In May 1906 he began work as préparateur of zoology in the laboratory of ''Biologie appliquée aux colonies''.Archive.org
Full text of "Bulletin du Museum national d'histoire naturelle" Later on in his career, he was appointed professor of zoology at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

. Taxa with the specific epithet of ''seurati'' are named after him, a few examples being ''Acomys seurati'' ( Seurat's spiny mouse), ''Perinereis seurati'' (an

annelid The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...

species described by Charles Gravier in 1905) and ''Calcinus seurati'' (Seurat's hermit crab). Also a genus of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the

Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

phylum was named '' Seuratia'' with its accompanying family Seuratiaceae.

Selected works

* ''Observations sur la Structure, la Faune et la Flore de l'Ile Marutea du Sud'', 1903 – Observations on the structure: The fauna and flora of

Marutea Sud Marutea Atoll (Marutea Sud), also known as Lord Hood Island, Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll in the far southeast of the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia. It lies in the east-northeast part of the Gambier (commune), about 72 km ...

. * ''Observations sur l'évolution de l'huître perlière des Tuamotu et des Gambier'', 1904 – Observations on the evolution of

pearl oyster ''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl". Pearl oysters are not closely related to ...

s of the Tuamotu and Gambier Islands. * ''Observations sur quelques îles orientales de l'Archipel Tuamotu'', 1904 – Observations on some of the eastern islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago. * ''Tahiti et les établissements français de l'Océanie'', 1906 –

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and the French establishments in Oceania. * ''Sur un nouvel Ophiostonum parasite du Gundi'', 1915 – On a new Ophiostonum parasite affecting

gundi Gundis or comb rats are a group of small, stocky, African rodents in the family Ctenodactylidae. They live in rocky deserts across Northern Africa. The family comprises four living genera and five species ( Speke's gundi, Felou gundi, Val's or ...

s. * ''Sur deux nouveaux Spiroptères des carnivores'', 1915 – On two new Spiroptera species affecting carnivores. * ''Physaloptères des Mammifères du Nord-Africain'', 1917 –

Physaloptera ''Physaloptera'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Physalopteridae. Systematics Species include: *'' Physaloptera dilatata''Muniz-Pereira et al., 2009, p. 11 *'' Physaloptera dispar'' *'' Physaloptera hispida''Kinsella, 1974, ...

affecting mammals of North Africa. * ''Faune des eaux continentales de la Berbérie'', 1921 – Wildlife of the inland waters of the Barbary. * ''Exploration zoologique de l'Algérie de 1830 à 1930'', (1930) – Zoological exploration of coastal

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

from 1830 to 1920. * ''Exploration zoologique des côtes de l'Algérie de 1724 à 1930'', (1930) – Zoological exploration of coastal Algeria from 1724 to 1930. * ''Exploration zoologique des côtes de l'Algérie orientale secteurs de Bône et de La Calle'', 1937 – Zoological exploration of the eastern coastal Algerian sectors of

Bône Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

and La Calle. * ''Faune des eaux continentales de la Tunisie (eaux superficielles)'', 1944 – Wildlife of the inland waters of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(surface water).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seurat, Leon Gaston 1872 births French zoologists French parasitologists Academic staff of the University of Algiers Year of death missing French people of colonial Algeria