Eponyms in ichthyology: Malacanthus plumieri, Sicydium plumieri, Haemulon plumieri

The tilefish Malacanthus plumieri (Malacanthidae), the Sirajo goby Sicydium plumieri (Gobiidae), and the white grunt Haemulon plumieri (Haemulidae) are named after the seventeenth-century French monk Charles Plumier (1646-1704), who is known for his compilation of plant and animal records, including his artful and detailed drawings of fish species such as the European perch (Perca fluviatilis), the striated frogfish (Antennarius striatus, then known as “Rana piscatrix ”), the rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) and a grayling (Thymallus thymallus) [1].

Charles Plumier was a traveler, naturalist, botanist and artist. Living and working before Carl Linnaeus was born and dying before he could publish most of his discoveries, Plumier was never given his rightful place among early naturalists [1]. Today, we encounter his name in the binomial nomenclature of the species listed above. The sand tilefish, Malacanthus plumieri, and the Sirajo goby, Sicydium plumieri, were named after him by German naturalist Marcus Bloch (1786) [2,3]; the white grunt, Haemulon plumieri, by French herpetologist and ichthyologist Bernard-Germain-Etienne Lacépède (1801) [5-7].

Keywords: natural history, ichthyology, scientific names.

References and more to explore
[1] Theodore W. Pietsch: Plumier's Passion. Natural History July/August 2011, 119 (7), pp.30-36.
[2] Latintos: Sand tilefish, Malacanthus plumieri, named by German naturalist Marcus E. Bloch after French monk Charles Plumier  [golatintos.blogspot.com/2011/09/sand-tilefish-malacanthus-plumieri.html].
[3] Encyclopedia of Life: Sicydium plumieri (Bloch, 1786) [www.eol.org/pages/983550/entries/27936422/overview].
[4] Fish Index: White Grunt (Haemulon plumieri)  [fishindex.blogspot.com/2010/04/white-grunt-haemulon-plumieri.html].
[5] Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce: Haemulon plumieri (Lacepede, 1801) [www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Haemul_plumei.htm].
[6] Fishwise: Haemulon plumieri (Lacepede, 1801) [www.fishwise.co.za/Default.aspx?TabID=110&GenusSpecies=Haemulon_plumieri&SpecieConfigId=286417].
[7] Bernard-Germain-Etienne Lacépède (1756-1825) [www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/Lacepede.html].