Learn the surprising 19th-century origin of some common fish [...]
Over the years, I’ve written about several important names in the history of ichthyology. Some were enthusiastic amateur naturalists, like the early pioneers Albertus Seba and Samuel Fallours, and others were diligent researchers of the traditional taxonomist mold: Marcus Bloch, Pieter Bleeker, [...]
The early eighteenth century roughly marks the starting point for the science of coral reef biology, and a key figure from this period was a Dutch apothecary named Albertus Seba. Unlike other notable biologists of his day, Seba was an amateur, and his study of marine organisms was at least partly [...]
Bernard Germain de Lacépède is one of the true founding fathers of ichthyology, and his magnum opus, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (Natural History of Fishes), is arguably the first great work to discuss and illustrate coral reef fishes. In this five volume compendium published from 1798-1803, [...]
The 19th century was a golden age for marine exploration and ichthyological discovery, and a majority of the coral reef fishes familiar to us today were first described during these formative years. To fully convey to a curious public the vibrant colors and ornate patterning of these new species, [...]
The study of coral reef fishes is a relatively recent field within ichthyology. The earliest scientific works, by naturalists such as Artedi, Linnaeus and Forsskål, consisted of little more than a series of terse morphological descriptions, completely lacking any accompanying illustrations. For [...]