Friedrich Christian Meuschen (15 September 1719 – 20 February 1811) was a German diplomat and

conchologist Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...

born in

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

. He was the son of

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Johann Gerhard Meuschen (1680–1743). Meuschen was a diplomatic representative in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, where he served as a liaison secretary. He was also a merchant of shells and other objects of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. From 1766 to 1778 he catalogued numerous natural history collections, and published his findings in an 8-volume work titled ''Miscellanea Conchyliologica''. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The fish genus '' Meuschenia'' is named in his honor by Australian

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 ...

Gilbert Percy Whitley Gilbert Percy Whitley (9 June 1903 – 18 July 1975) was a British-born Australian ichthyologist and malacologist who was curator of fishes at the Australian Museum in Sydney for about 40 years. Early life and education Gilbert Percy Whitley ...

(1903–1975).

References

The Mineralogical Record - Library
Essay on "Miscellanea Conchyliologica"
40th California International Antiquarian Book Fair
(book selections) * Holthuis (1998) Archives of Natural History. Volume 25, Page 75-85 , , Available Online February 1998. 1719 births 1811 deaths Conchologists People from Hanau Fellows of the Royal Society Merchants from the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-zoologist-stub