Editing Alcide d'Orbigny

{{redirect|d'Orbigny|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{short description|French naturalist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny
| image = Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny 1802.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth-date|6 September 1802}}
| birth_place = [[Couëron]], France
| death_date = {{death-date and age|30 June 1857|6 September 1802}}
| death_place = [[Pierrefitte-sur-Seine]]
| residence = 
| nationality = French
| fields = [[Natural history]]
| work_institution = [[Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle]]
| alma_mater = 
| doctoral_advisor = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for  = malacology, fossils, palaeontology
| prizes = 
| botanical name=
| footnotes = 
}}
'''Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny''' (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French [[Natural history|naturalist]] who made major contributions in many areas, including [[zoology]] (including [[malacology]]), [[palaeontology]], [[geology]], [[archaeology]] and [[anthropology]].

D'Orbigny was born in [[Couëron]] ([[Loire-Atlantique]]), the son of a ship's physician and amateur naturalist. The family moved to [[La Rochelle]] in 1820, where his interest in natural history was developed while studying the marine fauna and especially the microscopic creatures that he named "[[foraminifera]]ns".

In Paris he became a disciple of the geologist [[Louis Cordier|Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier]] (1777–1861) and [[Georges Cuvier]]. All his life, he would follow the theory of Cuvier and stay opposed to [[Lamarckism]].

==South American era==
D'Orbigny travelled on a mission for the Paris Museum, in South America between 1826 and 1833. He visited Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, and returned to France with an enormous collection of more than 10,000 natural history specimens. He described part of his findings in ''La Relation du Voyage dans l'Amérique Méridionale pendant les années 1826 à 1833'' (Paris, 1824–47, in 90 [[fascicle (book)|fascicles]]). The other specimens were described by zoologists at the museum.

His contemporary, [[Charles Darwin]], arrived in South America in 1832, and on hearing that he had been preceded, grumbled that D'Orbigny had probably collected "the cream of all the good things".<ref name="letter: 192">{{cite web | title= letter: 192, Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. [26 Oct–] 24 Nov 1832 | website=Darwin Correspondence Project | url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-192#back-mark-192.f3 | access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> Darwin later called D'Orbigny's Voyage a "most important work".<ref name="letter: 391">{{cite web | title= letter: 391, Darwin, C. R. to Jenyns, Leonard, 3 Dec [1837]  | website=Darwin Correspondence Project | url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-391 | access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> They went on to correspond, with D'Orbigny describing some of Darwin's specimens.

He was awarded the [[Grande Médaille d'Or des Explorations|Gold Medal]] of the [[Société de Géographie]] of Paris in 1834.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.socgeo.org/grande-medaille-dor-des-explorations-et-voyages-de-decouverte/ |title=Grande Médaille d'or des Explorations et Voyages de Découverte|lang=fr |publisher=Société de géographie |access-date=1 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206004240/http://www.socgeo.org/grande-medaille-dor-des-explorations-et-voyages-de-decouverte/ |archive-date=6 December 2014 }}</ref> The South American Paleocene [[Pantodonta|pantodont]] ''[[Alcidedorbignya]]'' was named in his honour.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title=''Alcidedorbignya'' 
 |publisher=Paleofile.com 
 |url=http://www.paleofile.com/Mammalia/Alcidedorbignya.asp 
 |access-date=July 14, 2013 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214115242/http://www.paleofile.com/Mammalia/Alcidedorbignya.asp 
 |archive-date=14 February 2015 
}}</ref>

==1840 and later==
[[Image:Orbigny2.jpg|thumb|On the shore of Rio Magdalen. Image from ''Voyages pittoresque dans les deux Amériques'']]

In 1840, d'Orbigny started the methodical description of French [[fossil]]s and published ''La Paléontologie Française'' (8 vols). In 1849 he published a closely related ''Prodrome de Paléontologie Stratigraphique'', intended as a "Preface to Stratigraphic Palaeontology", in which he described almost 18,000 species, and with biostratigraphical comparisons erected [[Stage (stratigraphy)|geological stage]]s, the definitions of which rest on their stratotypes.

In 1853 he became professor of palaeontology at the Paris [[Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle]], publishing his ''Cours élémentaire'' that related [[paleontology]] to [[zoology]], as a science independent of the uses made of it in [[stratigraphy]].<ref>"Conception et suites de la ''Paléontologie française'' d'Alcide d'Orbigny", ''Comptes Rendus Paleologiques'' '''1'''.7 (December 2002) pp. 599–613.</ref> The chair of paleontology was created especially in his honor. The d'Orbigny collection is housed in the ''Salle d'Orbigny'' and is often visited by experts.<ref>Agnès Lauriat-Rag, "La collection d'Invertébrés fossiles d'Alcide d'Orbigny et la salle d'Orbigny", ''Comptes Rendus Paleologiques'' '''1'''.7 (December 2002) pp. 615–627.</ref>

He described the geological timescales and defined numerous geological strata, still used today as [[Chronostratigraphy|chronostratigraphic]] reference such as Toarcian, Callovian, Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian, [[Aptian]], [[Albian]] and [[Cenomanian]]. He died in the small town of [[Pierrefitte-sur-Seine]], near Paris.

==Catastrophism==

D'Orbigny, a disciple of Georges Cuvier, was a notable advocate of [[catastrophism]].<ref>Huggett, Richard J. (1998). ''Catastrophism: Asteroids, Comets and Other Dynamic Events in Earth History''. Verso. p. 95. {{ISBN|1-85984-129-5}}</ref>

He recognized twenty-seven catastrophes in the [[fossil record]].<ref name="Singer">[[Charles Singer|Singer, Charles Joseph]]. (1931). ''The Story of Living Things: A Short Account of the Evolution of the Biological Sciences''. Harper & Bros. p. 232</ref> This became known as the "doctrine of successive creations".<ref name="Singer"/><ref name="Prothero">[[Donald R. Prothero|Prothero, Donald R]]. (2013). ''Bringing Fossils to Life: An Introduction to Paleobiology''. Columbia University Press. p. 223. {{ISBN|978-0-231-15893-0}}</ref> He attempted to reconcile the fossil record with the [[Genesis creation narrative]]. Both [[Uniformitarianism|uniformitarian]] geologists and theologians rejected his idea of successive creations.<ref name="Prothero"/>

Palaeontologist [[Carroll Lane Fenton]] has noted that his idea of twenty-seven world-wide creations was "absurd", even for creationists.<ref>[[Carroll Lane Fenton|Fenton, Carroll Lane]]. (1933). [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.534241/2015.534241.The-World#page/n177/mode/2up ''The World Of Fossils'']. D. Appleton-Century Company. p. 162</ref> [[L. Sprague de Camp]] has written that "Alcide d'Orbigny, carried the idea to absurdity. Dragging in the supernatural, d'Orbigny argued that, on twenty-seven separate occasions, God had wiped out all life on earth and started over with a whole new creation."<ref>[[L. Sprague de Camp|De Camp, Lyon Sprague]]. (1968). ''[[The Great Monkey Trial]]''. Doubleday p. 184. {{ISBN|0-385-04625-1}}</ref>

==Taxa==
Several zoological and [[Botany|botanical]] [[taxa]] were named in his honor, including the following [[Genus|genera]] and [[species]].
*''[[Alcidedorbignya]]'' {{small|[[species:Christian de Muizon|Muizon]] & [[Larry G. Marshall|Marshall]], 1992}} – an extinct genus of [[pantodont]] mammal
*''Alcidia'' <small>[[Jules René Bourguignat|Bourguignat]], 1889</small> – a genus of [[sea snail]]s
*''[[Ampullariidae|Ampullaria dorbignyana]]'' <small>[[Rodolfo Amando Philippi|Philippi]], 1851</small> – a species of [[freshwater snail]]
*''[[Apostolepis dorbignyi]]'' <small>[[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1837</small> – a species of burrowing snake<ref name=Bo>Beolens et al.</ref>
*''[[Asthenes dorbignyi]]'' <small>[[Ludwig Reichenbach|Reichenbach]], 1853</small> - a species of [[Ovenbird (family)|furnariid bird]]
*''[[Bachia dorbignyi]]'' <small>[[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]] & [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]], 1839</small> – a species of [[lizard]]<ref name=Bo/>
*''[[Cadomites orbignyi]]'' <small>[[species:Albert de Grossouvre|de Grossouvre]], 1930</small>  – a species of  [[ammonite]]s from the [[Bathonian]]<ref>{{in lang|fr}} de Grossouvre (A.), 1930. ''Note sur le Bathonien moyen''. Livre jubilaire. Centenaire de la Société Géologique de France, t. 2, pp. 361–387 {{,}}[https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/f/item/a04820?listIndex=6&listCount=19]</ref>
*''[[Chaunus dorbignyi]]'' <small>(A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1841)</small> – a species of [[toad]]
*''[[Haminoea|Haminoea orbignyana]]'' <small>[[André Étienne d'Audebert de Férussac|A. de Férussac]], 1822</small> – a species of sea snail
*''[[Hecticoceras (Orbignyceras)]]'' <small>C. Gérard & H. Contaut, 1936</small> – a [[subgenus]] of ammonite from the [[Callovian]]<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Gérard C. & Contaut H., « Les ammonites de la zone à ''Peltoceras athleta'' du Centre-Ouest de la France », ''Mémoires de la Société géologique de France'', Paris, vol. 29, 1936, {{p.|100}}</ref>
*''[[Liolaemus dorbignyi]]'' <small>[[species:Julio Germán Koslowsky|Koslowsky]], 1898</small> – a species of lizard<ref name=Bo/>
*''[[Lystrophis|Lystrophis dorbignyi]]'' <small>A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & [[Auguste Duméril|A.H.A. Duméril]], 1854</small> – a species of snake<ref name=Bo/>
*''Nerocila orbignyi'' <small>([[Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville|Guérin]], 1832)</small> – a species of [[Parasitism|ectoparasitic]] [[Isopoda|isopod]]
*''[[Attalea (plant)|Orbignya]]'' <small>[[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius|Mart.]] ex [[Stephan Endlicher|Endl.]]</small> – a genus of [[Arecaceae|palm trees]], which includes the species ''Orbignya speciosa'' <small>(Mart. ex [[Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel|Spreng.]])</small>, commonly known as the Brazilian palm tree or ''babaçu'' in Portuguese
*''[[Pinna (genus)|Pinna dorbignyi]]'' <small>[[Sylvanus Charles Thorp Hanley|Hanley]], 1858</small> – a species of [[bivalve]] [[mollusc]]
[[File:Potamotrygon orbignyi.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of ''Potamotrygon orbignyi'' by Castelnau.]]
*''[[Potamotrygon orbignyi]]'' <small>([[Francis de Laporte de Castelnau|Castelnau]], 1855)</small> – a species of freshwater [[stingray]]
*''[[Quadracythere orbignyana]]'' <small>([[Bosquet (surname)|Bosquet]], 1852)</small> – a species of marine [[ostracod]]
*''[[Rhinodoras dorbignyi]]'' <small>([[Rudolf Kner|Kner]], 1855)</small> –  a species of [[thorny catfish]]
*''[[Sepia (genus)|Sepia (Rhombosepion) orbignyana]]'' <small>[[André Étienne d'Audebert de Férussac|A. de Férussac]] in d'Orbigny, 1826</small> – a species of [[cuttlefish]], commonly known as the pink cuttlefish
*''[[Subdiscosphinctes orbignyi]]'' <small>Hantzpergue, 1987</small> – a species of ammonites from the [[Kimmeridgian]]<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Pierre Hantzpergue, ''Les ammonites kimméridgiennes du haut-fond d'Europe occidentale. Biochronologie, systématique, évolution, paléogéographie'', Cahiers de paléontologie, éditions du CNRS, 1989, {{p.|428}}</ref>
*''[[Trachemys dorbigni]]'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835)}} – a species of freshwater [[turtle]]

In the above list, a [[Author citation (zoology)|taxon author]] or [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than the genus to which the species is currently assigned.

== Publications ==
* {{cite book |last=d'Orbigny |first=Alcide |author-link=Alcide d'Orbigny |title=Paléontologie française. Description zoologique et géologique de tous les animaux mollusques & rayonnés fossiles de France |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WhEOAAAAQAAJ |access-date=26 August 2013 |volume=3 |year=1843 |publisher=Arthus Bertrand |location=Paris |page=807}}
{{botanist|A.D.Orb.|inline=yes}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
La Gazette des Français du Paraguay, Alcide d'Orbigny – Voyageur Naturaliste pour le Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle dans le Cone Sud – Alcide d'Orbigny – Viajero Naturalista para el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Francia en el Cono Sur – Bilingue Français Espagnol – numéro 7, année 1, Asuncion Paraguay.

==Further reading==
*[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; Grayson, Michael (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3ovZoFyLhzkC&pg=PA74 ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles'']. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("D'Orbigny", p.&nbsp;74, "Orbigny", p.&nbsp;195).
*Taylor, W. Thomas; Taylor, Michael L. (2011). "Alcide d'Orbignyi". ''Aves: A Survey of the Literature of Neotropical Ornithology''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Libraries. 156 pp. {{ISBN|978-0615453637}}.

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines d'}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=5069| name=Alcide d'Orbigny}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Alcide d'Orbigny |sopt=t}}
*[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ Gallica] Digital versions of some d'Orbigny works. Search at ''Recherche''.
*[https://archive.org/details/dictionnaireuni23orbigoog ''Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle'']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orbigny, Alcide}}
[[Category:1802 births]]
[[Category:1857 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century French zoologists]]
[[Category:Catastrophism]]
[[Category:Conchologists]]
[[Category:Christian creationists]]
[[Category:Critics of Lamarckism]]
[[Category:French entomologists]]
[[Category:French paleontologists]]
[[Category:Teuthologists]]
[[Category:National Museum of Natural History (France) people]]