Guido Poppe
Encyclopedia
Guido T. Poppe is a Belgian
malacologist
, shell dealer and author of more than 20 books and publications about shells, mainly about the families Volutidae
and Trochidae
.
, France
. His first diving experiences were in these cold waters in 1968.
He developed a career as a professional freelance conchologist. This allowed him to dive in many parts of the world, in European waters and in many tropical seas from Baja California
to Queensland
, Australia. In 2003 he moved from Belgium
to the Philippines
. Most of his dives are now concentrated in the Philippines. After more than 6,000 dives, he has compiled an extensive collection of photographs of seashells and marine life.
His interest in conchology gradually brought him fame in this field, mainly through publishing books on the subject.
He was the vice-president of the Société Belge de Malacologie (Belgian Malacological Society) for eight years.
and Trochidae
and on the Philippine malacofauna. The World Register of Marine Species
(WoRMS) has already listed 199 marine species named by Poppe (alone or together with others such as SheilaTagaro, Henk Dekker, Yoshihiro Goto or Salisbury) in its database. More than 30 species have been named after him by scientists from all over the world either with the epithet poppei or with the epithet guidoi.
In July 2004 Guido Poppe created together with his son Philippe Poppe (1977–) the journal, Visaya, specialising in the taxonomy of Mollusca
. He named the calliostoma topsnail Calliostoma philippei
Poppe, 2004, another sea snail Calliotropis philippei
Poppe, Tagaro & Dekker, 2006, and the micromollusc Granulina philpoppei
Cossignani Tiziano, 2006 after his son. Guido Poppe named the topsnail Calliostoma mariae
after his mother Maria Peyskens.
in Paris and attributed the title of Correspondent of the Museum. In 2006 he received the title of Scientific Associate, Malacologie Section, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
malacologist
Malacology
Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology which deals with the study of the Mollusca , the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, octopus and squid, and numerous other kinds, many of which have shells...
, shell dealer and author of more than 20 books and publications about shells, mainly about the families Volutidae
Volutidae
Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm, marine gastropod mollusks...
and Trochidae
Trochidae
The Trochidae, common name top snails, are a taxonomic family of very small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda ....
.
Biography
The son of an enthusiastic sports fisherman, Guido became fascinated at a young age by marine life during yearly holidays in BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, 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...
. His first diving experiences were in these cold waters in 1968.
He developed a career as a professional freelance conchologist. This allowed him to dive in many parts of the world, in European waters and in many tropical seas from Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. In 2003 he moved from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Most of his dives are now concentrated in the Philippines. After more than 6,000 dives, he has compiled an extensive collection of photographs of seashells and marine life.
His interest in conchology gradually brought him fame in this field, mainly through publishing books on the subject.
He was the vice-president of the Société Belge de Malacologie (Belgian Malacological Society) for eight years.
Scientific work
He discovered more than 1000 new species of Mollusca and described more than 230 of these, mainly in the families VolutidaeVolutidae
Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm, marine gastropod mollusks...
and Trochidae
Trochidae
The Trochidae, common name top snails, are a taxonomic family of very small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda ....
and on the Philippine malacofauna. The World Register of Marine Species
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species is a database that hopes to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the...
(WoRMS) has already listed 199 marine species named by Poppe (alone or together with others such as SheilaTagaro, Henk Dekker, Yoshihiro Goto or Salisbury) in its database. More than 30 species have been named after him by scientists from all over the world either with the epithet poppei or with the epithet guidoi.
In July 2004 Guido Poppe created together with his son Philippe Poppe (1977–) the journal, Visaya, specialising in the taxonomy of Mollusca
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...
. He named the calliostoma topsnail Calliostoma philippei
Calliostoma philippei
Calliostoma philippei is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae....
Poppe, 2004, another sea snail Calliotropis philippei
Calliotropis philippei
Calliotropis philippei is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliotropidae....
Poppe, Tagaro & Dekker, 2006, and the micromollusc Granulina philpoppei
Granulina philpoppei
Granulina philpoppei is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Cossignani Tiziano, 2006 after his son. Guido Poppe named the topsnail Calliostoma mariae
Calliostoma mariae
Calliostoma mariae is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Calliostomatidae.-Distribution:This species is endemic to the Philippines. It is found in Northern Leyte in the Visayas group of islands. This top shell lives at depths of approximately 205 to 214 m.-Shell...
after his mother Maria Peyskens.
Scientific collections
As a collector he built major conchological collections, which are now housed in prestigious museums all over the world:- Aesthetic collection in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelleMuséum national d'histoire naturelleThe Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
, Paris. - European collection in the Bailey-Matthews Shell MuseumBailey-Matthews Shell MuseumThe Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is a museum of seashells and conchology located in the city of Sanibel, Florida on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida...
, Florida. - Trochidae collection in the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de la ville de Geneve, Geneva.
- General collection in the Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels. The latter collection forms an important addition to the Philippe DautzenbergPhilippe DautzenbergPhilippe Dautzenberg was a Belgian malacologist, in other words, he was a biologist who specialized in the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with mollusks...
collection and together both collections form the core of the conchological collections of the Institute. - Faunistical collection of Philippine shells hold by Conchology, Inc, Philippines. This collection, the most comprehensive on the subject ever made, contains over 21000 specimens, of which more than 1500 are new to science. It is, at present, the only large collection in the world which is fully documented and digitalized and by the way the only major collection that is studied by internet technology by scientists from all over the world.
Museum correspondent
In 1996 he was honoured by the Museum national d'Histoire naturelleMuséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
in Paris and attributed the title of Correspondent of the Museum. In 2006 he received the title of Scientific Associate, Malacologie Section, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is a museum in the Belgian capital of Brussels dedicated to natural history. Its most important pieces are 30 fossilized Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart. The dinosaur hall of the museum is the world's largest museum...
.