Biography
Pierre André Latreille (November 29, 1762 – February 6, 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom after recognising a rare beetle species he found in the prison, Necrobia ruficollis. He published his first important work in 1796 (Précis des caractères génériques des insectes), and was eventually employed by the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. His foresighted work on arthropod systematics and taxonomy gained him respect and accolades. He was considered the foremost entomologist of his time, and was described by one of his pupils as "the prince of entomologists".
Publication activity
New taxa described
Described Taxa Distribution
6 type localities across 6 genera
Papers (4)
Vues génerales sur les araneides à 4 pneumobranches ou quadripulmonaires, suivies d'une notice de quelques especes de mygales inedites et de l'habitation de celle que l'on nomme nidulans. Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris 1.
Articles sur les araignées. N. Dict. hist. nat. Paris. Ed. II, Paris, 22.
Genera crustaceorum et insectorum. Paris, tome 1, 302 pp. (Araneae, pp 82-127).
Histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Crustacés et des Insectes. Paris, 7: 144-305 [p. 160].