François-Marie Daudin

François Marie Daudin (29 August 1776 in Paris – 30 November 1803 in Paris) was a French zoologist.

With legs paralyzed by childhood disease, he studied of physics and natural history, but ended up being devoted to the latter.

Daudin wrote Traité élémentaire et complet d'Ornithologie (Complete and Elementary Treatise of Ornithology) in 1799–1800. It was one of the first modern handbooks of ornithology, combining Linnean binomial nomenclature with the anatomical and physiological descriptions of Buffon. While an excellent beginning, it was never completed.

In 1800, he also published Recueil de mémoires et de notes sur des espèces inédites ou peu connues de mollusques, de vers et de zoophytes (Collection of memories and notes on new or little-known species of molluscs, worms and zoophytes).

Daudin found his greatest success in herpetology. He published Histoire naturelle des reinettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds (Natural history of tree frogs, frogs and toads) in 1802, and Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des reptiles (Natural History of Reptiles) (8 volumes) in 1802–1803. This latter work contained descriptions of 517 species, many for the first time, based on examining over 1100 specimens.

He was assisted by his wife Adèle, who drew the illustrations. Although his books were commercial failures the couple did not live in poverty. She died of tuberculosis in early 1804, and he followed shortly thereafter, not yet 30 years old.

Despite his short life, Daudin made a lasting contribution to taxonomy.

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