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

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

. As a young man, he worked as a preparateur for the zoologist

Gabriel Bibron Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was ...

(1805–1848), later serving as a museum artist. In 1861, he was sent to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(then called Siam), where he explored the fauna and brought back an important collection of specimens. xiii + 244 pp. (Bocourt, p. 25). He collaborated with

Auguste Duméril Auguste Henri André Duméril (30 November 1812 – 12 November 1870) was a French zoologist. His father, André Marie Constant Duméril (1774–1860), was also a zoologist. In 1869 he was elected as a member of the Académie des sciences. Dum ...

(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, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

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 President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. 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 zoology, zoologist. He is most famous for his work in the areas of herpetology, malacology, and ichthyology. In 1854 he graduated from the Arras College, College d'Ar ...

(1834–1914),

François Mocquard François Mocquard (27 October 1834 – 19 March 1917) was a French herpetologist born in Leffond, Haute-Saône. In 1860 he was named ''préparateur du physique'' after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree at the Faculty of Besançon. Subseque ...

(1834–1917) and

Fernand Angel Fernand Angel (2 February 1881, Douzy – 13 July 1950, Paris) was a French herpetologist. In 1905 he began work as Assistant Preparator under Léon Vaillant and François Mocquard at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' in Paris. Later ...

(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 on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

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

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 The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

*Bocourt's eyelid skink, ''

Phoboscincus bocourti The terror skink (''Phoboscincus bocourti)'', also called Common name, commonly Bocourt's terrific skink, Bocourt's eyelid skink and Bocourt's skink, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Scincidae. The species is Endemism, ende ...

'' ,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 New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

*Bocourt's black-headed snake, ''

Tantilla bocourti ''Tantilla bocourti'', also known commonly as Bocourt's black-headed snake and ''la serpiente de cabeza negra de Bocourt'' in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic t ...

'' , native to

*''

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

'' , a Central American

toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) 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. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...

*''

Craugastor bocourti ''Craugastor bocourti'' (common name: Bocourt's robber frog) is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae. The species is endemic to Guatemala and found on the mountains of the Sierra de las Minas in Alta Verapaz Department. It is named afte ...

'' , a frog native to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

*''

Hyla bocourti Bocourt's tree frog (''Dryophytes bocourti)'', or Bocourt's treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. The species is endemic to Guatemala and found on the mountains of southern Alta Verapaz Department and Baja Verapaz Department. It i ...

'' , a frog native to

*'' Cincelichthys bocourti'' , a Central American

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

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, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

*'' 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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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

Micrurus bocourti ''Micrurus bocourti'', the false triad coral snake or Ecuador coral snake, is a species of snake of the family Elapidae. The snake is found in Ecuador and Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South Americ ...

'' , 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 ...

native to northwestern South America *''

Mystus bocourti ''Mystus bocourti'' is a species of catfish endemic to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, known only from Chao Phraya River and Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. ...

'' , a catfish native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

*''

Pangasius bocourti Basa (''Pangasius bocourti''), as it is commonly referred to, is a species of primarily freshwater-dwelling catfish in the shark-catfish family, Pangasiidae, native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins of Mainland Southeast Asia. Econo ...

'' , a catfish native to

*''

Polemon bocourti ''Polemon bocourti'', or Bocourt's snake-eater, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae of the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Central Africa (from Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea t ...

'' , a

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than it ...

snake native to

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

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

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a different

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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