Clodoveo Carrión Mora
Encyclopedia
Early years
Clodoveo Carrión was born in LojaLoja, Ecuador
Loja is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and El Oro, and with Peru in the south...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
as the second son of Manuel Alejandro Carrión Riofrío (Poet) and Filomena Mora Bermeo. Among his brothers are Hector Manuel (Poet), José Miguel (lawyer, sociologist, senator, rector of the Universidad Nacional de Loja) and Benjamín Carrión
Benjamín Carrión
Manuel Benjamín Carrión Mora was an Ecuadorian writer and cultural promoter.He was born into an aristocratic family in Loja. He was a lawyer by training, and occupied various positions in the public arena, including Minister of Education, legislator, diplomat in several countries of Europe and...
.
Clodoveo attended a catholic primary school La Salle
La Salle
- People :* Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle , French cavalry general during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars* Denise LaSalle , singer* Eriq La Salle , actor...
and then a secular high school Colegio Bernardo Valdivieso
Colegio Bernardo Valdivieso
Colegio Bernardo Valdivieso, located in Loja Ecuador, is the oldest school in the country, founded in 1856. It is considered a true cultural icon of the South Region of Ecuador....
. As a young man he recognised that he had no aptitude for the letters ---something rare in his family--- but rather for the natural sciences. In order to pursue his scientific education, Clodoveo traveled to Europe. He studied at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
obtaining the title of Industrial Engineer. During his 10-year stay in Europe he also carried out many studies in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He never married and was a very reserved person. Having been born into an affluent family of intellectuals and liberals certainly contributed to achieving his plans.
Back from Europe
Upon returning from Europe, he became Professor of Natural Sciences at the Colegio Bernardo ValdiviesoColegio Bernardo Valdivieso
Colegio Bernardo Valdivieso, located in Loja Ecuador, is the oldest school in the country, founded in 1856. It is considered a true cultural icon of the South Region of Ecuador....
until his retirement. In 1924 he presented some of his findings to the Panamerican Scientific Congress in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, for which he was widely praised. He kept a longtime correspondence and working relationship with distinguished scientists of several renowned international institutions, e.g. with the American paleontologist Dr. Edward W. Berry
Edward W. Berry
Edward Wilber Berry was an American paleontologist and botanist, the principal focus of his research was paleobotany. Berry studied North and South American flora and published taxonomic studies with theoretical reconstructions of paleoecology and phytogeography. He started his scientific...
of the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
; with the British geologist Mr. Errof I. White of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; with Dr. Orestes Cendrero
Orestes Cendrero
Orestes Cendrero was a Spanish naturalist and professor of biology at the Instituto General y Técnico de Santander. He was a colombophile , and was editor of the pigeon scientific journal: Boletín Colombófilo Español.- Bibliography :...
of the Instituto General y Técnico de Santander, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt
Waldo L. Schmitt
Waldo LaSalle Schmitt was an American biologist born in Washington, D.C. He received his Ph.D. from George Washington University in 1922. In 1948, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Southern California...
of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. For all his teaching and scientific achievements he obtained the degree of Doctor Honoris causa from the Universidad Nacional de Loja.
Scientific Contributions
Carrión was very active in PaleontologyPaleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
and Entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, fields in which he discovered many species and one genus. His main discoveries were:
- Plants: Elaphoglossum carrioni, Melochia carrioni, and Caussapea carrioni.
- Other paleo-species that he classified belonged to the following groups: Spotfungi , BryophytaBryophytaBryophyta may refer to:*Mosses, a specific group of leafy bryophytes, now regarded as Division Bryophyta .*Bryophytes, a paraphyletic group of plants formerly regarded as a single division but now split into mosses , hornworts , and liverworts ....
, Pteridophyta, MonocotyledonMonocotyledonMonocotyledons, also known as monocots, are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognized, the other being dicotyledons, or dicots. Monocot seedlings typically have one cotyledon , in contrast to the two cotyledons typical of dicots...
ae, Dicotyledonae, UrticalesUrticalesUrticales is a botanical name for what used to be an order of flowering plants. Before molecular phylogenetics became an important part of plant taxonomy, Urticales was recognized in many, perhaps even most, systems of plant classification, with some variations in circumscription...
, SantalalesSantalalesSantalales is an order of flowering plants with a cosmopolitan distribution, but heavily concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.Most have seeds without a testa, which is unusual for flowering plants...
, Chenopodiales, Ranales, RosalesRosalesRosales is an order of flowering plants. It is one of the four orders in the nitrogen fixing clade of the fabids and is sister to a clade consisting of Fagales and Cucurbitales. It contains about 7700 species, distributed into about 260 genera. Rosales comprises nine families, the type family...
, GeranialesGeranialesGeraniales are a small order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subgroup of dicotyledons. The largest family in the order is Geraniaceae with over 800 species. In addition, the order includes some small families, contributing together another less than 40 species...
, SapindalesSapindalesSapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem....
, Rivimnales, MalvalesMalvalesMalvales are an order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by APG II-system, it includes about 6000 species within nine families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, which are part of the eudicots....
, LauralesLauralesThe Laurales are an order of flowering plants. They are magnoliids, related to the Magnoliales.The order includes about 2500-2800 species from 85-90 genera, which comprise seven families of trees and shrubs. Most of the species are tropical and subtropical, though a few genera reach the temperate...
, MyrtalesMyrtalesThe Myrtales are an order of flowering plants placed as a basal group within the rosid group of dicotyledons...
, EbenalesEbenalesEbenales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. This name was used in several systems, for example the Bentham & Hooker system and the Engler system, although the Wettstein system preferred the name Diospyrales'...
, GentianalesGentianalesGentianales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons.The circumscription of Gentiales in the Cronquist system included a broadly defined Loganiaceae , Retziaceae, Gentianaceae, Saccifoliaceae, Apocynaceae, and Asclepiadaceae...
, RubialesRubialesRubiales was an order of flowering plants in the Cronquist system, including the families Rubiaceae and Theligonaceae. The latest APG system does not recognize this order and places the families within Gentianales....
.
These findings were thoroughly described by White (1927) and Berry (1929). Such transcendental discoveries were crucial to understanding the last phase of the geological evolution of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
by correlating several sedimentary basin
Sedimentary basin
The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification...
s in the American Continent.
In Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
his main findings were:
- Fish: Carrionellus diomortus and Lipopterichthys carrioni.
- Reptiles: Atractus carrioni, Botrops lojana, Stenocercus carrioni Parker, 1934.
- Arthropods: Triatoma carrioniTriatoma carrioniTriatoma carrioni is a blood-sucking bug and probably vector of the flagellate protozoan that causes Chaga's disease. It was discovered by F...
(usually called in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
chinche de caballo); which is the vector of the Chagas DiseaseChagas diseaseChagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is commonly transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect vector, the blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae most commonly species belonging to the Triatoma, Rhodnius,...
in Southern EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. This finding was documented by F. Larrousse (1926). - Frogs: Eleuterodactilus carrioni, Hila carrioni, Gastrotheca marsupiata lojana. The latter is a frog with the peculiarity that during reproduction she incubates her eggs in a special bag that is carried on her back. His findings were thoroughly reported by Parker (1930, 1932, 1934, 1938).
- Coleoptera: many beetles belonging to the families Cerambycidae, ScarabaeidaeScarabaeidaeThe family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite...
, Meloidae, Elateridae, and Tenebrionidae.