Les figures des plantes et animaux d'usage en medecine, a rare work published by F. A. P. de Garsault in 1764

Abstract

Between 1764 and 1767 the artist and naturalist F. A. P. de Garsault published several editions of the five-volume work Les figures des plantes et animaux d'usage en medecine, in which hundreds of plants (four volumes) and animals (one volume) were figured and presented with French and Latin names. A strict absence of polynominal Latin names in the animal volume is a surprising contrast to the botanical volumes where many polynominal names were used. Although several Latin zoological names entered taxonomy in the years after 1764, some of which are still in current usage, the rare work has remained almost unknown to zoologists. Zoologists presumably have not found the work any more in libraries since long before 1900, because in zoological publications work and taxa have erroneously been attributed to the physician and zoologist E. L. Geoffroy, while in botanical bibliographies Garsault's true authorship was maintained.

The <i>International Code of Zoological Nomenclature</i> must be drastically improved before it is too late

“…It is here suggested that, if such a generic nomen is rediscovered after 1999, its nucleospecies could be fixed only by subsequent explicit designation, not by subsequent monophory. Such cases are rare nowadays, but still may occur, are well illustrated with the recent rediscovery by Welter-Schultes et al (2008) of Garsault's (1764) work. In their treatment of the amphibian and reptile nomina in this work, Dubois & Bour (2010a) explicitly designated nucleospecies for the genera, without taking into account the fact that, in a few cases, Welter-Schultes & Klug (2009) had mentioned a single nominal species as belonging to this genus-while clearly stating that they did not designate nucleospecies in their paper.…”

Towards a more rational and stable nomenclature for Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Greylag Goose Anser anser and their domesticates, including various priority issues, designation of lectotypes, and a First Reviser act

“…Twenty-two of the 34 bird names in Garsault (1764) are the same as those in Brisson (1760) for the same species concept (disregarding a single-letter difference in the spelling of one name and a hyphen), including ‘Anser domesticus’. The remaining 12 names used by Garsault (1764) show no clear pattern that might imply a single source, as noted by Welter-Schultes & Klug (2009), but none is novel, all of them having been used by pre-Linnean authors, e.g., Gessner (1555, 1560), Aldrovandi (1603 and other volumes), Belon (1555, 1557), Barrère (1745) or Charleton (1668, 1677). Several of Garsault’s (1764) two-word names, e.g., ‘Alcedo muta’ for Common Kingfisher and ‘Aquila regalis’ for Golden Eagle, do not follow Linnaeus’ names (these being Alcedo ispida Linnaeus, 1758 and Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758).…”

“…Each is given a French and Latin name on the relevant plate, and these are repeated in the index. Critically, Garsault (1764) deployed only one- or two-name epithets, and thus is a work rooted in binominal nomenclature making his names available (Welter-Schultes et al . 2008, Welter-Schultes & Klug 2009, 2011).…”

“…Welter-Schultes & Klug (2009) discussed possible reasons as to why Garsault's (1764) animals and birds deployed a binominal system, when neither of the same author's works on plants nor contemporary or later French authors such as Brisson (1760) or Buffon (1770–83) did so. Garsault's (1764) bird names overall seem mostly Brissonian, not Linnean, in origin as might be expected from a publication of this era by a French author, given that Brisson was at the time arguably the world's leading ornithologist (e.g.…”

Genital morphology differentiates three subspecies of the terrestrial slug Arion ater (Linnæus, 1758) s.l. and reveals a continuum of intermediates with the invasive A. vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855

“…Judging from other illustrations, the pale lateral band in this illustration is merely the artist's device to indicate the round form. No locality was given, but the neighbourhood of Paris, where Garsault worked (welteR-scHultes et al 2008) is the most reasonable assumption. This would be compatible with occurrences of fr in that area (zeMAnovA et al 2016).…”