Jules Verreaux

Jules Pierre Verreaux (24 August 1807 - 7 September 1873) was a French botanist, ornithologist and professional collector of, and trader in, natural history specimens. He was the brother of Edouard Verreaux and nephew of Pierre Antoine Delalande.

Verreaux worked for his family business, Maison Verreaux, established in 1800 by his father, Jacques Philippe Verreaux, at 6 Boulevard Montmartre in Paris. [ [http://www.southpacifictaxidermy.com/html/brothers.htm South Pacific Taxidermy: The Verreaux brothers of France] ] Maison Verreaux was an emporium and dealership in natural history specimens which had, as a frequent client, the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle to add to its collections.

Verreaux travelled to Australia in 1842 to collect plants. He returned to France in 1851 with a natural history collection reported to contain 15,000 items. In 1864 he took over from Florent Prévost as assistant naturalist at the Paris Museum.

Verreaux also worked in China and South Africa, where he helped Andrew Smith found the South African Museum in Cape Town in 1825.

He is commemorated in the names of Verreaux's Eagle ("Aquila verreauxii"), Verreaux's Coua ("Coua verreauxi"), the White-tipped Dove ("Leptotila verreauxi") and the Golden Parrotbill ("Paradoxornis verreauxi").Mearns, Barbara; & Mearns, Richard. (1988). "Biographies for Birdwatchers. The lives of those commemorated in Western Palaearctic bird names". Academic Press: London. ISBN 0-12-487422-3]

References