Sylvanus Charles Thorp Hanley (1819–1899) was a British

conchologist Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

Entry at the UK National Archives
/ref> and

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

who published the first book on shells using the then new technique of photography. He authored ''Conchologia indica'' with

William Theobald William Theobald (1829 – 31 March 1908) was a malacologist and naturalist on the staff of the Geological Survey of India serving in Burma, then a part of British India. Biography Very little is known of Theobald's early life. Theobald was refe ...

which was a treatise on the shells of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The plates were drawn and

lithographed Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

by ''George Brettingham Sowerby the younger'', who was well known for writing and illustrating excellent works of natural history, especially conchological works. Sowerby became the best illustrator of conchological works of his time, illustrating such classics as Reeve's monumental twenty-volume ''Conchologia Iconica''. Sylvanus Hanley inherited a fortune, which enabled him to devote a lifetime to conchology. He was especially interested in the

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...

, on which he was a leading authority. He published over 40 books and scientific papers, and described over 200 new species. Hanley collected

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 ...

extensively; most of his collections are today held at

Leeds City Museum Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England. Hanley collected over a period of 60 years, and corresponded frequently with many other naturalists of his time. He acquired several specimens of

Unio Unio may refer to: * ''Unio'' (bivalve), a genus of freshwater mussels * ''Unio'' (sternwheeler), a steamboat that operated in Oregon, United States, in 1861, before being renamed ''Union'' * UNI/O, an asynchronous serial bus * UNIO Satu Mare, a ...

, now extinct, for

Isaac Lea Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was t ...

. Several

syntype In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part of ...

s were collected by him for other leading contemporary biologists, including Arthur Adams, W.H. Dall,

Henry B. Guppy Henry Brougham Guppy (23 December 1854 – 23 April 1926) was a British surgeon, geologist, botanist and photographer. He was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1917. Life He was born in Falmouth on the English coast the son of Dr. Thomas Stokes ...

Richard Brinsley Hinds Richard Brinsley Hinds FRCS (11 October 1811, Aldermaston, England25 May 1846, Swan River, Western Australia) was a British naval surgeon, botanist and malacologist. He sailed on the 1835–42 voyage by HMS ''Sulphur'' to explore the Pacific ...

Jeffries Jeffries is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adam Jeffries (b. 1976), American actor * Ben Jeffries (b. 1980), Australian rugby league footballer * Bill Jeffries (b. 1945), former New Zealand politician * Charles Jeffries ...

, Leath,

Sven Ludvig Lovén Prof Sven Ludvig Lovén (6 January 1809 – 3 September 1895), was a Swedish marine zoologist and malacologist. The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences within the University of Gothenburg was named in his honour. Life Lovén was born in Stoc ...

, George Montagu,

William Harper Pease William Harper Pease (1824–1871) was a 19th-century American conchologist, shell collector and malacologist. He described many species of Indo-Pacific marine mollusks from the Cuming collection. He moved in 1849 to Honolulu, from where he ...

Rodolfo Amando Philippi Rodolfo Amando (or Rudolph Amandus) Philippi (14 September 1808 – 23 July 1904) was a German–Chilean paleontologist and zoologist. Philippi contributed primarily to malacology and paleontology. His grandson, Rodulfo Amando Philippi Bañados ...

and

Tryon Reakirt Tryon Reakirt (21 April 1844 – after 1871) was an American businessman and entomologist. He wrote several papers on butterflies and showed great promise in his field. However his career was cut short when financial and legal difficulties forced hi ...

. ''The Hanley Collections'', as it is called, forms one of the largest collections in Leeds City Museum, occupying 13 cabinets and 206 drawers.The Leeds Molluscan Collections: A Report by the Curator of the Leeds Museu
PDF
/ref> Hanley Road and the now-lost Sylvanus Row, both in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, were named in honour of his father. His son was the painter

Edgar Wilkins Hanley Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

(1855–1886).

Bibliography

* ''Index to Catalogue of recent bivalve shells'' * 1840 ''The young conchologist's book of species. Univalves'' J. Fraser (London) * 184
''The conchologist's book of species : containing descriptions of six hundred species of univalves''
London. * 1843 ''An illustrated, enlarged, and English edition of Lamarck's Species of shells comprising the whole of the recent additions in Deshayes' last French edition, with numerous species not noticed by that naturalist, accompanied by accurate delineations of almost all the shells described, and forming the third edition of the Index testaceologicus, with illustrations by W. Wood'' W. Wood (London) * 1855 ''Ipsa Linnaei conchylia: The shells of Linnaeus, determined from his manuscripts and collections ; also, an exact reprint of the Vermes testacea of the 'Systema naturae' and 'Mantissa. Williams and Norgate (London) * 1856 ''Index Testaceologicus: An Illustrated Catalogue of British and Foreign Shells''. Along with William Wood. Published by Willis and Sotheran, 234 page
PDF
* 1876 ''Conchologia Indica: llustrations of the Land and Freshwater Shells of British India'' Along with

. Malacological Society of London
Link on Google Books

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Sylvanus Charles Throp 1819 births 1899 deaths British zoologists Conchologists British malacologists