Oscar de Beaux
Oscar de Beaux | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 December 1879 |
| Died | September 29, 1955 (aged 75) |
| Citizenship | Italy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mammalogy |
| Institutions | Tierpark Hagenbeck University of Genoa Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova |
Oscar de Beaux (5 December 1879–29 September 1955) was an Italian mammalogist. His studies of mammals primarily took place in the Italian colonies of Africa. De Beaux was also a conservationist, authoring one of the first papers to argue the ethics of conservation, "Biological ethics: an attempt to arouse a naturalistic conscience".
Early life
De Beaux was born 5 December 1879 in Florence, Italy.[1]
Career
Zoology
From 1911–1913, he was a scientific assistant at the Carl Hagenbeck zoo. He was later employed at the University of Genoa as a professor of zoology. Next, he worked at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova (Genoa Natural History Museum), where he served as Director from 1934–1947.[2] While at the Museum he managed a small zoo so as to make scientific observations on living mammals. Drawing from this work, he published one of the first scientific papers on the possible effects of captivity on the skeleton and fur color of animals.[3] He also undertook several hybridization experiments at the zoo, including a blackbuck x Dorcas gazelle cross, as well varieties of leopards or jackals.[4]
De Beaux undertook several studies of mammals of the Italian colonies of Africa. He described a number of new mammal species and subspecies, including Patrizi's trident leaf-nosed bat, the Somalian trident bat, and Parissi's slit-faced bat.[3]
Conservation
In 1923, de Beaux joined the International Society for the Conservation of the European Bison.[1] This organization was the world's first to attempt to save an animal species by means of captive breeding.[3] In 1930, de Beaux published "Biological ethics: an attempt to arouse a naturalistic conscience", which Pedrotti called "his most important study."[1] In it, de Beaux defined biological ethics as the "study and definition of man's moral position before the living beings which do not belong to the humane race, beginning with the morale premise that man was not able to create the species." "Biological ethics" has been called "one of the first works on the ethical aspects of conservation".[3]
De Beaux also emphasized the role of education in conservation, highlighting the importance of facilities such as zoos, aquaria, natural history museums, and botanical gardens. He stated that they "promote not only naturalist knowledge, but also love and a sympathetic attitude for plants and animals".[3]
American conservationist Aldo Leopold began a correspondence with de Beaux in 1934 after reading an English translation of "Biological ethics", saying that he read the paper "with very intense interest".[5] In his letter, Leopold enclosed his own publication in a similar vein, "The Conservation Ethic". De Beaux conservation publication actually predated Leopold's by several years, as the English translation was not published until 1932, which was around when Leopold wrote "The Conservation Ethic".[5]
Death
De Beaux died on 29 September 1955 in Torre Pellice, Italy.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Pedrotti, F. (2001). "Biological ethics in the thought of Oscar de Beaux". Global Bioethics. 14 (1): 39–44.
- ^ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2009). The eponym dictionary of mammals. JHU Press. p. 103-104. ISBN 9780801895333.
- ^ a b c d e Gippoliti, S. (2006). "Oscar de Beaux: a noteworthy Italian mammalogist and conservationist". Italian Journal of Zoology. 73 (3): 285–289. doi:10.1080/11250000600821361.
- ^ Gippoliti, Spartaco; Kitchener, Andrew (2008-02-06). "The italian zoological gardens and their role in mammal systematic studies, conservation biology and museum collections". Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy. 18 (2). doi:10.4404/hystrix-18.2-4401. ISSN 0394-1914.
- ^ a b Hall, M. (2005). Earth Repair: A Transatlantic History of Environmental Restoration. University of Virginia Press. p. 229-230. ISBN 9780813923413.