Léon Louis Vaillant (; 11 November 1834 – 24 November 1914) was a French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

. He is most famous for his work in the areas of

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...

malacology Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams ...

, and

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

. In 1854 he graduated from the College d'Arras, followed by studies in medicine and zoology 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. ...

. In 1861, he received his medical doctorate, then continued his zoological studies with

Henri Milne-Edwards Henri Milne-Edwards (23 October 1800 – 29 July 1885) was an eminent French zoologist. Biography Henri Milne-Edwards was the 27th child of William Edwards, an English planter and colonel of the militia in Jamaica and Elisabeth Vaux, a Frenchw ...

(1800-1885), earning his degree in

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

in 1865. In 1875, he became a professor at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He held a special interest involving the

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic t ...

and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked ...

s and

crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant ...

s, but also made significant contributions in his investigations of reptilian

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

and behavior. Of his 200-plus scientific writings, 90 of them are based on herpetological subjects. He participated in French naval expeditions on the ''Travailleur'' in 1880, 1881 and 1882 and on the ''Talisman'' in 1883.

Eponyms

The following are several species of marine organisms named after Léon Vaillant: *The ribbon worm, ''Amphiporus vaillanti''

Joubin Louis Marie Adolphe Olivier Édouard Joubin (27 February 1861 in Épinal – 24 April 1935 in Paris) was a professor at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris. He published works on nemerteans, chaetognatha, cephalopods, and other M ...

, 1902 *The dragon fish, '' Bathophilus vaillanti'' Zugmayer, 1911 *The shortspine African angler, '' Lophius vaillanti''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1903 *The squat lobster, ''

Munidopsis vaillantii ''Munidopsis'' is a genus of squat lobster. It is the second largest of all the genera of squat lobsters, after '' Munida'', with over 200 species. Its members are mainly found on continental slopes and on abyssal plains. A few fossil species a ...

A. Milne-Edwards Alphonse Milne-Edwards (Paris, 13 October 1835 – Paris, 21 April 1900) was a French mammalogist, ornithologist, and carcinologist. He was English in origin, the son of Henri Milne-Edwards and grandson of Bryan Edwards, a Jamaican planter who set ...

, 1881 *''Solamen vaillanti'' Issel, 1869 *'' Solariella vaillanti'' Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896 *'' Turbonilla vaillanti'' Dautzenberg & Fischer, 1896. The following are four species of reptiles named after Vaillant: *''

Chioninia vaillantii ''Chioninia vaillantii'', also known commonly as Vaillant's mabuya or Vaillant's skink, is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands. There are two recognized subspecies. Conservation status '' ...

'' *'' Micrelaps vaillanti'' *''

Liophidium vaillanti ''Liophidium'' is a genus of snakes in the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The genus contains ten species, nine of which are endemic to the island of Madagascar and one to the island of Mayotte. All species of ''Liophidium'' are harmless to humans. ...

'' .Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Vaillant", p. 271; "Ludovic", Latin for Louis, p. 162). *'' Dopasia ludovici'' The following fish are named after Vaillant: *The pike cichlid ''

Crenicichla vaillanti ''Crenicichla vaillanti'' is a species of cichlid native to South America. It is found in the Essequibo and Mana River basins. This species reaches a length of . The fish is named in honor of Pellegrin’s mentor and boss, Léon Vaillant (1834- ...

'' Pellegrin, 1904. The following fish are possibly named after Vaillant: *'' Pseudogobio vaillanti'' (

Sauvage Sauvage, French for "savage" may refer to: ; as a surname: * Catherine Sauvage (1929–1998), a French singer and actress * Cyrille Sauvage (born 1973), a French racing driver * Frédéric Sauvage (1786–1857), a French boat builder who carried ...

, 1878)

Written works

* ''Études sur les poissons'', Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale - Study of fishes. (with

Marie Firmin Bocourt Marie Firmin Bocourt (19 April 1819 – 4 February 1904) was a French zoologist and artist. As a young man, he worked as a preparateur for the zoologist Gabriel Bibron (1805–1848), later serving as a museum artist. In 1861, he was sent to Tha ...

1819-1904). * ''Essai sur le système pileux dans l'espèce humaine'', 1861, medical dissertation. * ''Observations sur la constitution géologique de quelques terrains aux environs de Suez'', 1865 - Observations on the geological constitution of terrain and environs of

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

. * ''Recherches sur la famille des Tridacnides'', 1865 - Research of the family

Tridacninae Tridacninae, common name, the giant clams, is a taxonomic subfamily of very large saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. Description This subfamily contains the largest living bivalve species, including '' ...

. * ''Note sur quelques objets océaniens empruntés au test de différents mollusques'', 1868, Bulletin de la société géologique de France. - Note on a few items from the Pacific borrowed in order to test different mollusks. * ''Quelques mots sur Denys de Montfort à propos d'une brochure parue en 1815, sd Rapport sur les poissons, crustacés et mollusques'', 1880, Exposition universelle de 1878, à Paris - Some comments by

Pierre Denys de Montfort Pierre Denys de Montfort, also sometimes spelled "Pierre Dénys de Montfort", (1766–1820) was a French naturalist, in particular a malacologist, remembered today for his pioneering inquiries into the existence of the gigantic octopuses. He ...

(1815), Report on fishes,

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, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gr ...

and

mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

. * ''Mémoire sur la disposition des vertèbrés cervicales chez les chéloniens'' 1880 - Memoir on the disposition of

cervical vertebrae In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In ...

of chelonians. * ''Expéditions scientifiques du travailleur et du Talisman pendant les annees 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883. Poissons'', 1888 - Scientific expeditions of the Travailleur and the Talisman during the years 1880 to 1883. * ''Histoire naturelle des annelés marins et d'eau douce'', 1889-1890, Collection des Suites à Buffon - Natural history of marine and freshwater

annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...

s; (with Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau 1810-1892). * ''Les tortues éteintes de l'île Rodriguez d'après les pièces conservées dans les galeries du Muséum'', 1893 - Turles off of

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. Rod ...

, in reference to conserved pieces in the museum galleries.Le cths Sociétés savantes de France
(bibliography) * ''Histoire naturelle des reptiles. Première partie: Crocodiles et tortues'', 1910 - Natural history of reptiles. first part: crocodiles and turtles.

References

External links

WorldCat Identities
(publications)
VIAF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaillant, Leon French herpetologists French ichthyologists 1834 births 1914 deaths French physiologists National Museum of Natural History (France) people Scientists from Paris

Eponyms

Written works

See also

References

External links