Léon Pervinquière (14 August 1873 in

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

– 11 May 1913) was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

. He was ''Chef des Travaux Pratiques de Géologie'' at the Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was also seen as a geographer. Pervinquière is remembered for his extensive geological studies of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, which first took place in 1896. He also conducted important paleontological research of the region that included studies of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

as well as investigations of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

gastropods Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and from the land. Ther ...

and

pelecypod Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

s. In 1911 he took part in an expedition to define the border between Tunisia and

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

. On this mission he performed geological and

geographical Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

studies. The third part of

Philippe Thomas Philippe Thomas (4 May 1843 – 12 February 1910) was a French veterinarian and amateur geologist who discovered large deposits of phosphates in Tunisia. Despite the huge economic importance of his discovery, he received little recognition during ...

's ''Essai d'une description géologique de la Tunisie'', which was to have described the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

formations, was completed and published by his friend, Léon Pervinquière.

Émile Haug Gustave Émile Haug (19 June 1861 - 28 August 1927) was a French geologist and paleontologist known for his contribution to the geosyncline theory. Career Émile Haug was born on 19 June 1861. In 1884 he received his doctorate in natural scie ...

published the ''Essai d'une description géologique de la Tunisie'' after Pervinquiere had also died, and presented it to the Geological Society of France in session on 6 April 1914. The

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

species ''Fagesia pervinquieri'' is named after him.

Written works

* ''Étude géologique de la Tunisie centrale'', (1903) - Geological study of central Tunisia. * ''Études de paléontologie tunisienne 1, Céphalopodes des terrains secondaires'', (1907) - Studies of Tunisian paleontology I,

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s of secondary formations. * ''Le Sud Tunisien'', (1909) - Southern Tunisia * ''Rapport sur une mission scientifique dans l'extrême-sud tunisien (frontière tuniso tripolitaine)'', (1912) - Discussion on the scientific mission to extreme southern Tunisia (Frontier Tunisia-Tripolitania). * ''Études de paléontologie tunisienne 2, Gastropodes et lamellibranches des terrains crétacés'', (1912) - Studies of Tunisian paleontology II, Cretaceous gastropods and

lamellibranch Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

s. * ''La Tripolitaine interdite.

Ghadamès Ghadames or Ghadamis (Ghadamès language, Ghadamsi: ⵄⴰⴷⴻⵎⴻⵙ / ''Ɛadēməs'' �adeːməs , ) is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya. Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the dese ...

'' 1912.IDREF.fr
(bibliography)

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pervinquiere Leon French paleontologists French geologists French geographers People from La Roche-sur-Yon 1913 deaths 1873 births