Charles des Moulins facts for kids
Charles Des Moulins, whose full name was Charles Robert Alexandre Des Moulins (born March 13, 1798 – died December 23, 1875), was a French scientist. He was a naturalist, which means he studied nature. He was especially interested in botany (plants) and malacology (mollusks like snails and clams).
Charles Des Moulins was part of many important scientific groups. One of these was the American Philosophical Society, which chose him as an international member in 1861. He was also the president of the Société linnéenne de Bordeaux in 1826.
Discovering New Species
Charles Des Moulins was very good at finding and describing new species of animals and plants. He named many types of snails. For example, he named a snail called Pagodulina pagodula in 1830.
Species Named After Him
Because of his important work with mollusks, many species were named in his honor. These include both ancient (fossil) mollusks and modern ones. They include bivalves (like clams) and gastropods (like snails). Most of these were freshwater or land species, but some lived in the ocean.
Here are a few examples of species named after him:
- Pisania desmoulinsi Montrouzier, 1864: This is a type of sea snail.
- Anodonta desmoulinsiana Locard, 1882: This is a freshwater clam.
- Nerita desmoulinsiana Dautzenberg & Bouge, 1933: Another type of sea snail.
- Vertigo moulinsiana Dupuy, 1849: This is a land snail.
Plants He Named
Des Moulins also named different kinds of plants. One well-known plant he named is Euphorbia milii in 1826. This plant is often called the "Crown of Thorns."
A whole group of plants, called the botanical genus Moulinsia, was named after him. This group belongs to the Sapindaceae family and was named by another scientist, Jacques Cambessèdes.
