The Caribbean sand tilefish, Malacanthus plumieri (Malacanthidae), was in 1786 named by German naturalist Marcus E. Bloch after the French monk, traveler, biologist and artist Charles Plumier (1646-1704) [1-4]. A detailed drawing of the sand tilefish, made by Plumier during his stay in Martinique, can be admired—among other amazing drawings of fish species and their internal soft parts by Plumier—in a recent Natural History article by Theodore Pietsch [1]. A drawing footnote says that the sand tilefish grows as much as two feet long and makes a burrow in the sand in tropical and subtropical waters of the Western Atlantic.
Most sources refer to Charles Plumier as a botanist. He also deserves the attribute of an early ichthyologist or pioneering fish naturalist.
Keywords: ichthyology, order Perciformes, tilefishes, eponym.
References and more to explore
[1] Theodore W. Pietsch: Plumier's Passion. Natural History July/August 2011, 119 (7), pp.30-36.
[2] Theodore W. Pietsch: Charles Plumier (1646-1704) and his drawings of French and American fishes. Archives of Natural Historyatural History February 2001, 28 (1), pp. 1-57. DOI: 10.3366/anh.2001.28.1.1.
[3] World Register of Marine Species: Malacanthus plumieri (Bloch, 1786) [www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=277261].
[4] Pictures: Encyclopedia of Life | Caribbean Reefs | Caribbean Sea - Bonaire. Notice that Plumier's drawing contains more or different details (color patterns, shapes of body parts) than the photographies!
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