Fernand Lataste (1847 - 1934) 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 ...

and

herpetologist 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 ...

born in Cadillac, Gironde. From 1880 to 1884 he collected

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephali ...

and

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arb ...

in North Africa (

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

), publishing ''"Les missions scientifiques de Fernand Lataste en Afrique noire et au Maghreb"''. In 1885 he released ''"Étude de la faune des vertébrés de Barbarie"'', a standard work on animals of North Africa.
''The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals'' by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. Other publications by Lataste are: *''Essai d'une faune herpétologique de la Gironde'', 1876 - Essay on the herpetological fauna of

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1, ...

. *''Étude sur le discoglosse'', 1879 - Study of '' Discoglossus''. *''Notes prises au jour le jour sur différentes espèces de l'ordre des rongeurs observées en captivité'', 1886. - Notes taken on a daily basis involving different species of rodents observed in captivity. *''Liste de mollusques du Chili : lettre à M. Fernand Lataste'', 1896 - List of

mollusk 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 es ...

s native to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. In 1876 he was a founding member of the ''

Société zoologique de France La Société zoologique de France ( en, "Zoological Society of France"), founded in 1876 by Aimé Bouvier, is a scientific society devoted to Zoology. It publishes a bulletin and organises the Prix Gadeau de Kerville de la Société zoologique d ...

''.

Taxonomy

Lataste was the taxonomic author of numerous

genera 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 ...

and

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, as an example, in 1880 he described the

fat-tailed gerbil The fat-tailed gerbil (''Pachyuromys duprasi''), also called the duprasi gerbil or doop, is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. It is the only member of the genus ''Pachyuromys''. These rodents are the most docile species of the ge ...

( ''Pachyuromys'' ''duprasi'' ). Along with Lataste's viper ('' Vipera latastei'' ), a

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and North

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, his name is associated with the following: * Lataste's gerbil (''Gerbillus latastei'' ); * Lataste's gundi, often referred to as the Mzab

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

, (''Massoutiera mzabi'' );
''Concise Encyclopedia: Biology'' by Thomas Scott * Ophiomorus latastii, Lataste's snake skink (''Ophiomorus latastii'' ); * Lataste's lizard (''Timon pater'' );''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''
by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. *''

Latastia ''Latastia'' is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in Africa ( Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Zambia, Senegal, ...

'', a genus of lacertid

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia a ...

; * Lataste's frog (''Rana latastei'') which inhabits the plains of Northern Italy, the southern tip of Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.

References

External links

Fernand Lataste's "Bibliography of Scientific Publications", c. 1880-1890
from the

Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institutio ...

French zoologists 1847 births 1934 deaths French herpetologists People from Gironde {{France-zoologist-stub