Decio Vinciguerra
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Decio Vinciguerra (23 May 1856 – 5 October 1934) was an Italian physician and
ichthyologist 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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
who for many years was Director of the Aquarium of Rome.


Early years

Decio Vinciguerra was born in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
on 23 May 1856. He studied at the University of Genoa, and in 1878 obtained a degree in Medicine and Surgery. Immediately after graduating he was appointed assistant to the Chair of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in the
University of Genoa The University of Genoa () is a public research university. It is one of the largest universities in Italy and it is located in the city of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy. The original university was fou ...
. He was naturally attracted to zoology, which he studied further, obtaining a doctorate degree. He became a botanist and a zoologist with particular interest in
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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
. Vinciguerra was a member of the Italian expedition to
Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...
in 1882 led by
Giacomo Bove Giacomo Bove (23 April 1852 – 9 August 1887) was an Italian explorer. He sailed with Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld on the first voyage through the north-east passage, and later explored Tierra del Fuego and the Congo River. Early years Giacomo Bove ...
. Although officially both zoologist and botanist, in fact Carlos Luigi Spegazzini from
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
handled the botanical work. The geologist
Domenico Lovisato Domenico Lovisato (12 August 1842 – 23 February 1916) was an Italians, Italian geologist. He was a very early proponent of the theory of continental drift. Education Domenico Lovisato was born in Izola, Isola, in Istria, then part of the Aust ...
and the hydrologist Giovanni Roncagli made up the scientific party. Vinciguerra made valuable collections and observations of fauna and their distribution in the region. He visited Germany several times to study fish breeding, and attended conferences, mostly related to fishing, in
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
and
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Teaching and research

Decio Vinciguerra was a member of the
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria is a natural history museum in Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live wi ...
from 1883 to 1931. In 1884 he made the first inventory of the fish fauna of Tunisia. In 1887 he was appointed Director of the fish breeding station in Rome, holding this position until 1921. There he undertook research into
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...
and
Salmonidae Salmonidae (, ) is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fish, the only extant member of the suborder Salmonoidei, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmo ...
. From the early 1890s he was a professor at the
Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
, and was also Director of the Acquario Romano. Vinciguerra also taught fish breeding in Forest Institute at the former
Vallombrosa Abbey Vallombrosa is a Benedictine abbey in the ''comune'' of Reggello (Tuscany, Italy), about 30 km south-east of Florence, in the Apennines, surrounded by forests of beech and firs. It was founded by Florentine nobleman Giovanni Gualberto in ...
and in the Higher Agricultural Institute of
Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
. An 1895 book on ''Oceanic ichthyology'' described Vinciguerra as one of the most active and scholarly of the naturalists of Italy. Vinciguerra was instrumental in restocking inland waters in Italy with lake trout and whitefish. He also became a recognized expert on marine fisheries. In 1901 he was sent by the Ministry to the Red Sea, at the invitation of the Italian pearl society, to perform research and observations around the Dahlak Archipelago. In the scientific field of
herpetology Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
, Vinciguerra is known for having described three new species of
lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...
and one new species of snake."Vinciguerra". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Also, Vinciguerra's writhing skink ('' Mochlus vinciguerrae'') is named in his honor.


Administration

Vinciguerra believed that oceanographic exploration of the Mediterranean Sea would help the fishing industry. Based on Vinciguerra's proposal, the 9th
International Geographical Union The International Geographical Union (IGU; , UGI) is an international geographical society. The first International Geographical Congress was held in Antwerp in 1871. Subsequent meetings led to the establishment of the permanent organization i ...
in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
endorsed the principle of a commission in July 1908 and formed a committee that included Vinciguerra to define the organization, leading to establishment of the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM). Vinciguerra represented Italy at the Fourth International Fishery Congress in Washington, D.C., in September 1908, where he reported on the decision to undertake an "international oceanographic exploration of the Mediterranean Sea in the interest of fisheries" and asked whether the Congress approved this decision. Mr Charles E. Fryer asked whether membership of the body would be restricted to litoral countries, and Vinciguerra confirmed that all countries with an interest in the Mediterranean should be represented. In 1911 Vinciguerra organized the International Congress of fishing. At the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he was in Greece, where he organized fish breeding and made interesting studies on the Greek ichthyofauna. He returned to this work in Greece after the armistice. In 1920 he represented Italy at the Oceanographic Congress in Madrid, and in 1924 he represented the geographical society at the International Geographical Congress in Cairo. In 1921 Vinciguerra returned to Italy to become Deputy Director of the Museum of Genoa. Vinciguerra died in Padua on 5 October 1934. During the course of his long career he published 210 papers on ichthyology and fisheries, bringing him wide recognition in Italy and other countries. '' Vinciguerria'' is a genus of bristlemouths in the family
Phosichthyidae Lightfishes are small stomiiform fishes in the family Phosichthyidae The earliest fossils of lightfishes are of the genus †'' Sytchevskia'' Prokofiev, 2002, known from Middle Eocene-aged Tethyan marine strata in Georgia. They are very small ...
. It is named for Dr. Decio Vinciguerra.


Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Decio Vinciguerra


Taxon named in his honor

*The catfish '' Exostoma vinciguerrae'' is named after him.


Notes and references

Citations Sources * * * (in French). * (in Italian). * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinciguerra, Decio 1856 births 1934 deaths Italian ichthyologists Italian herpetologists Scientists from Genoa University of Genoa alumni Academic staff of the University of Genoa Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Academics from Genoa