Marie Firmin Bocourt (19 April 1819 – 4 February 1904) 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 d ...

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

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

(then called Siam), where he explored the fauna and brought back an important collection of specimens. He collaborated with Auguste Duméril (1812–1870) on a series called ''Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique Centrale'', a result of Bocourt's scientific expedition to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

in 1864–1866, in one part during the French Intervention in Mexico led by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. Auguste Duméril died in 1870, and the project was continued by Bocourt with assistance from

Léon Vaillant Léon Louis Vaillant (; 11 November 1834 – 24 November 1914) was a French zoologist. He is most famous for his work in the areas of herpetology, malacology, and ichthyology. In 1854 he graduated from the College d'Arras, followed by studie ...

(1834–1914), François Mocquard (1834–1917) and Fernand Angel (1881–1950). With Vaillant, he published a study on fishes, "''Études sur les poissons'' ", that was included in ''Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique Centrale''. As an artist, he specialized in

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

s, doing portraits of contemporary people as well as zoological illustrations. Delalande's Coua

Taxa named in honor of Bocourt

Bocourt has a number of zoological species and subspecies named after him, including the following. *Bocourt's swimming crab, '' Callinectes bocourti'' , native to the Caribbean *Bocourt's eyelid skink, ''

Phoboscincus bocourti The terror skink (''Phoboscincus bocourti''), also called commonly Bocourt's terrific skink, Bocourt's eyelid skink and Bocourt's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Île des Pins (Isle of Pin ...

'' ,Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Bocourt", pp. 28-29). native to New Caledonia *Bocourt's black-headed snake, '' Tantilla bocourti'' , native to

*''

Incilius bocourti ''Incilius bocourti'' (formerly ''Bufo bocourti''; common name Bocourt's toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in southwestern Guatemala and in Chiapas in the adjacent Mexico. Its phylogenetic position is uncertain; it ...

'' , a Central American

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

*''

Craugastor bocourti ''Craugastor'' is a large genus of frogs in the family Craugastoridae with 126 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 ...

'' , a frog native to Guatemala *'' Hyla bocourti'' , a frog native to Guatemala *'' Cincelichthys bocourti'' , a Central American cichlid Vaillant, Léon Louis; Pellegrin, Jacques (1902). "''Cichlidés nouveaux de l'Amérique Centrale'' ". ''Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle'' 8: 85-86. (in French). *'' Agama bocourti'' , a lizard native to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

*'' Anolis bocourtii'' , a lizard native to northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

*'' Atractus bocourti'' , a snake native to northwestern South America *''

Micrurus bocourti ''Micrurus'' is a genus of venomous coral snakes of the family Elapidae. Geographic range Species in the genus ''Micrurus'' are endemic to the Americas. Species The following 83 species are recognized as being valid. *'' Micrurus albicinctus'' ...

'' , a

venomous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

native to northwestern South America *'' Mystus bocourti'' , a catfish native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

*''

Pangasius bocourti Basa (''Pangasius bocourti'') is a species of catfish in the family Pangasiidae. Basa are native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins in Mainland Southeast Asia. These fish are important food fish with an international market. They are often l ...

'' , a catfish native to

*'' Polemon bocourti'' , a rear-fanged snake native to

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...

*'' Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii'' , a lizard native to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

*'' Subsessor bocourti'' , a snake native to Southeast Asia ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a different

genus 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 nom ...

Works

* Bocourt, F. (1868) ''Descriptions de quelques crotaliens nouveaux appartenant au genre Bothrops, recueillis dans le Guatemala''. Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool., ser. 5, vol. 10, p. 201–202. * Duméril, A., Bocourt, F. ''Études sur les reptiles et les batraciens''. en la serie "Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale., recherches zoologiques", 3e partie, 1ère section. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. * Duméril, A., Bocourt, F. & Mocquard, F. (1870-1909). ''Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique Centrale. Recherches zoologiques.'' Paris: Imprimerie Impériale * Bocourt, F. (1873a) ''Caractères d'une espèce nouvelle d'iguaniens le Sceleporus acathhinus''. 'Characters on a New Iguana Species, Sceleporus acathinus''Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. (5)17(6): 1. * Bocourt, F. (1873b) ''Deux notes sur quelques sauriens de l'Amérique tropicale''. 'Two Notes on Its Tropical (Pan-)American Lizards''Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. Paleontol. (5)19(4): 1–5. * Bocourt, F. (1873c) ''Note sur quelques espèces nouvelles d'iguaniens du genre Sceleporus''. 'Notes on the New Iguana Species of the Genre Sceleporus''Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. (5)17(10): 1–2. * Bocourt, F. (1873–1897)'' Études sur les reptiles''. 'Studies on Reptiles'' Part 3, Sect. 1, Book. 2–15, pp. 33–860, Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique Centrale - Recherches Zoologiques. Paris, Imprimerie Imperiale. p. 1012 * Bocourt, F. (1876a) ''Note sur quelques reptiles du Mexique''. 'Notes on Its Reptiles of Mexico''Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool.(6)3(12): 1–4. * Bocourt, F. (1876b) ''Note sur quelques reptiles de l'Isthme de Tehuantepec (Mexique) donnés par M. Sumichrast au Muséum''. J. Zool. (Paris) 5: 386–411. * Bocourt, F. (1879) ''Etudes sur les reptiles''. 'Studies on Reptiles''Miss. Sci. Mexique, Rech. ZooL. Book. 6:361-440, p. 21–22, 22A-22D

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bocourt, Marie Firmin 1819 births 1904 deaths French zoologists Scientists from Paris Artists from Paris