Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet (26 August 1809 – 9 October 1892) was a French naturalist, born in Lays,

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, primarily as a natural artist, drawing any natural findings. He collected specimens in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

, Guatemala and

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. He had a particular interest in

molluscs 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 esti ...

and was recognised as a leading expert in the field. Morelet married Noémie de Folin, sister of

Léopold de Folin Léopold de Folin (Alexandre Guillaume Léopold de, Marquis de Folin, 28 August 1817 – 5 July 1896) was an author, oceanographer, malacologist and early founder (1871) of the collections which were to become the ''Musée de la mer'' (sea museu ...

. Morelet died of natural causes in 1892, in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earl ...

Taxa described

Morelet described various taxa, including: * ''

Cyclophorus horridulum †''Cyclophorus horridulum'' was a species of small, air-breathing, land snails with an operculum, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Cyclophoridae. This species was endemic to Mayotte. It is now extinct Extinction ...

'' (Morelet, 1882) - a species of land snail * ''

Crocodylus moreletii Morelet's crocodile ''(Crocodylus moreletii)'', also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in fresh waters of the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to abou ...

'' (Morelet, 1850) - a crocodile

Taxa named in his honour

Taxa named in honour of Arthur Morelet include: * '' Agalychnis moreletii'' ( A.M.C. Duméril, 1853) –

Morelet's Treefrog Morelet's tree frog (''Agalychnis moreletii''), also known as black-eyed leaf frog and popeye hyla, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Its natural habitat ...

* ''

'' ( A.H.A. Duméril & Bibron, 1851) –

Morelet's Crocodile Morelet's crocodile ''(Crocodylus moreletii)'', also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in fresh waters of the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about ...

Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Morelet", pp. 182-183). * ''

Mesaspis moreletii ''Abronia moreletii'', commonly known as Morelet's alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to Central America. Etymology The specific name, ''moreletii'', is in honor of French naturalist Pierre ...

'' ( Bocourt, 1871) – Morelet's alligator lizard * ''

Ommatoiulus moreletii ''Ommatoiulus moreleti'' (spelt ''moreletii'' in older publications), commonly known as the Portuguese millipede, is a herbivorous millipede native to the western Iberian Peninsula where it shares its range with other ''Ommatoiulus'' species. Fro ...

'' (Lucas, 1860) – Portuguese millipede * ''Sporophila morelleti'' ( Bonaparte, 1850) – Morelet's seedeater"Fifty-ninth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds", '' The Auk'' 135: 798-813, at p. 809. . For a full taxonomic history of this species with copious references, see R. Wright
"Sharpe's Pygmy Finch"
''Birding New Jersey'', June 22, 2018. Gastropods: * '' Clavator moreleti'' Crosse & Fischer, 1868 * '' Conus moreleti'' Crosse, 1858 * '' Edentulina moreleti'' (Adams, 1868) * '' Leidyula moreleti'' (Fischer, 1871) * '' Letourneuxia moreleti'' (P. Hesse, 1884) * '' Onoba moreleti'' Dautzenberg, 1889 * ''

Patella moreleti ''Patella candei'', also known as the sun limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. Description The naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny named the gastro ...

'' Drouet, 1858

Bibliography

* Morelet A. (1845). ''Description des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles du Portugal''. pp. –3 I–VII, 1–116, Pl. I–XIV. Paris. (Bailliere)
scan
* Morelet A. (1860). ''Iles Açores. Notice sur l'histoire naturelle des Açores suivie d'une description des mollusques terrestres de cet archipel.'
scan

References

External links

* 1809 births 1892 deaths French zoologists French malacologists People from Doubs {{France-zoologist-stub