Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet (26 August 1809 - 9 October 1892) was a French

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...

 naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

, born in Lays, Doubs

Doubs

Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...

. He was a member of the Commission to Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, primarily as a natural artist, drawing any natural findings.

He had a particular interest in mollusks, which he published many works on, particularly the molluscan species of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

Morelet married Noémie de Folin, sister of Léopold de Folin

Léopold de Folin

Léopold de Folin was an author, oceanographer, malacologist and early founder of the collections which were to become the Musée de la mer in Biarritz, France...

. Morelet died of natural causes in 1892, in Dijon

Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

.

Taxa described

Morelet described various taxa, including:

• Cyclophorus horridulum
  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....
  
  (Morelet, 1882) - a species of land snail
  Land snail
  A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
  
  

Taxa named in honour

Taxa named in honour of Arthur Morelet include:

• Agalychnis moreletii (Duméril, 1853) - Morelet's Treefrog
  Morelet's Treefrog
  Morelet's Tree Frog is a species of tree frog of family Hylidae. It belongs to the leaf frog subfamily , and is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico...
  
  
• Crocodylus moreletii - Morelet's Crocodile
  Morelet's Crocodile
  Morelet's crocodile, also known as the Mexican 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 in length. It is an endangered species.-History:...
  
  
• Mesaspis moreletii
• Ommatoiulus moreletii
  Ommatoiulus moreletii
  Ommatoiulus moreletii, commonly known as the black Portuguese millipede, is a herbivorous millipede native to Portugal. This species was accidentally introduced into Australia where it has since become an invasive pest.-Physical characteristics:...
  
  (Lucas, 1860) - a millipede

gastropods:

• Clavator moreleti
  Clavator moreleti
  Clavator moreleti is a species of air-breathing land snail, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Acavidae.This species is endemic to Madagascar....
  
  Crosse & Fischer, 1868
• Conus moreleti
  Conus moreleti
  Conus moreleti is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
  
  Crosse, 1858
• Edentulina moreleti
  Edentulina moreleti
  Edentulina moreleti is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Streptaxidae.- Distribution :Edentulina moreleti is endemic to the Seychelles....
  
  (Adams, 1868)
• Leidyula moreleti
  Leidyula moreleti
  Leidyula moreleti is a species of air-breathing land slug, shell-less terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Veronicellidae.- Distribution :Distribution of Leidyula moreleti include:* Mexico...
  
  (Fischer, 1871)
• Letourneuxia moreleti (P. Hesse 1884)
• Onoba moreleti
  Onoba moreleti
  Onoba moreleti is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Rissoidae....
  
  Dautzenberg, 1889
• Patella moreleti Drouet, 1858

External links

• works by Arthur Morelet at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  
• another set of his works at Internet Archive