Palisot de Beauvois

Ambroise Marie François Joseph Palisot, Baron de Beauvois (27 July 1752, Arras – 21 January 1820, Paris) was a French naturalist.

Palisot collected insects in Oware, Benin, Saint Domingue, and the United States, during the period 1786–1797. Trained as a botanist, Palisot published a significant entomological paper entitled, "Insectes Receuillis en Afrique et en Amerique". Together with Frederick Valentine Melsheimer, he was one of the first entomologists to collect and describe American insects. He described a large number of common insects and suggested an ordinal classification of Insects. He described many Scarabaeidae as well as illustrating them for the first time. The study included 39 Scarabaeus species, 17 Copris species, 7 Trox species, 4 Cetonia and 4 Trichius. Familiar beetles as Canthon viridis, Macrodactylus angustatus and Osmoderma scabra were first described by him. Many of the specimens that were labelled from America, were from Africa, and vice versa. He created type localities in America for species such as Dynastes hercules (L.), well outside the natural range.

Palisot’s expeditions were described inter alia by Chase (1925) and Merrill (1937) and a summary is provided here to explain the uncertain origins of his material. Palisot trained as a lawyer but pursued postgraduate studies in botany under Jean-Baptiste Lestiboudois in Lille and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in Paris.

He also did important early work on the classification of lycopods, notably the Lycopodiaceae and Selaginellaceae.

After finishing his studies he was appointed advocate to the Parlement of Paris in 1772, and afterward receiver general. He then devoted himself to the study of natural history, especially botany.

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