Wollaston (Thomas Vernon)
Original title: Wollaston (T. Vernon)
English naturalist who visited the Madeira archipelago four times between 1847 and 1855, collecting insects and molluscs and publishing major works on them.
An English naturalist who visited our archipelago four times, the first in October 1847 and the last in the summer of 1855. He collected important zoological material on the various islands of the archipelago, especially in the fields of entomology and malacology. He also tried to visit the Savage Islands (Selvagens) aboard a pleasure yacht, but was unable to land there. Works:
- Insecta Maderensia, London, 1854
- Catalogue of the Coleopterous Insects of Madeira, London, 1857
- Testacea Atlantica, London, 1878; etc.
This last work covers the molluscan fauna of the Azores, Madeira, the Selvagens, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and St Helena.
As a malacologist, Wollaston falls far short of the Baron of Castelo de Paiva, Albers and others; as an entomologist, he is accused of having needlessly created many new species.
The zoological specimens that belonged to Thomas Vernon Wollaston are almost all held in the British Museum, although a collection of shells is in the possession of a certain Preston, a dealer in natural history objects (1921).
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In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 03Place
Places mentioned · 02
Abroad
- British Museum
United Kingdom. Holds most of Wollaston's zoological specimens.
The British Museum holds the best zoological collections from Madeira, including most of T. Vernon Wollaston's specimens and several seal specimens from the Deserta Grande. It also holds Sydney Parkinson's drawings.
- Savage Islands
Funchal · Selvagens. Islands Wollaston tried but failed to land on.
A small uninhabited island group, politically part of the Madeira archipelago. The Elucidário covers its geography, geology, fauna, ownership history and legends of hidden treasure, including Shackleton's treasure plans, and notes the annual hunting of shearwaters and rabbits. It is the only remaining home of the limpet Patella vulgata and was studied by naturalists such as Lowe and Garreta.
People
People mentioned · 04-
English naturalist who collected insects and shells in the Madeira archipelago (1847–1855) and wrote Insecta Maderensia.
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Malacologist cited as superior to Wollaston.
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Malacologist judged by the Elucidário to be far superior to Wollaston in that field.
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Natural-history dealer who in 1921 held a collection of Wollaston's shells.