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Mattheus Marinus Schepman

Dutch malacologist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mattheus Marinus Schepman
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Mattheus Marinus Schepman (17 August 1847 – 19 November 1919)[1][2] was a Dutch malacologist.[3][4] He was one of the foremost collectors of mollusc shells in the Netherlands, and was also high on the overall list of European collectors.[5]

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Dutch collectors developed an interest in natural history specimens that were collected on worldwide expeditions since the 16th century. An interest in conchology led to numerous shell publications. In 1934 the Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging (Netherlands Malacological Society) was founded. In commemoration of its 75th anniversary, a book honoring in detail the work of Mattheus Schepman was published.[5]

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His research

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Schepman was both a collector and a methodical scientist, which combination "made his collection of great value to the entire malacological community." He was given the opportunity to study a collection by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber, Director of the Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (ZMA). Many of the specimens he studied and collected were gathered by the Siboga Expedition. The expedition went to the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago and investigated 322 sites.[5]

Schepman's most significant work is reported in "The Prosobranchia of the Siboga expedition". HM Siboga was the transport ship for the eponymous "Siboga Expedition". Published over five years and consisting of 494 pages, it covers 212 genera and 1,467 species.[6] Eduard von Martens was involved in mollusk identification from the first expedition, and he "probably recommended Schepman for the work on the second." In any event, Schepman published seven volumes which described 2,500 specimens, and 1,235 shelled mollusc species, "many new to science."[5]

An important aspect of his work was his scientific collection of shells, a collection which was almost unprecedented in scope and breadth. Eventually sold in 1920 to the Zoological Museum Amsterdam for ƒ7,205, the collection consisted of 9,000 species and 1,250 genera of shelled freshwater, marine, and land molluscs.[5]

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Published works

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Schepman wrote over 62 malacological works.[5] They include: (incomplete)

The Prosobranchia of the Siboga Expedition

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Taxa

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Schepman described and named a large number of taxa of molluscs, mostly species, especially species of marine gastropods.[5][6] For example, in November 2012, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) listed 182 valid marine taxa (181 marine gastropods, 1 marine bivalve) that were described by Schepman.[7]

Schepman originally described about 450 taxa, including many turrids.[5] Examples of the numerous taxa he named and described are in the following list (synonyms are not included):

Families

Freshwater and marine cave snails:

Genera

Sea snails (sorted chronologically):

Species

Land snails:

  • Amphidromus reflexilahris Schepman
  • Helicarion sumatrensis Schepman, 1886[8]
  • Asperitas bimaensis (Schepman, 1892)
  • Dyakia densestriata Schepman, 1896[9]
  • Hemiplecta butikkoferi Schepman, 1896[9]
  • Euplecta costellifera Schepman, 1918[10]
  • Euplecta imperforata Schepman, 1918[10]
  • Macrochlamys imperforata Schepman, 1918[10]
  • Sitala crenocarinata Schepman, 1918[10]
  • Planispira planissima Schepman, 1918[10]
  • Cyclotus subcanaliculatus Schepman, 1918[10]

Land slugs:

  • Parmarion goedhuisi Schepman, 1896[9]
  • Microparmarion litteratus Schepman, 1896[9]
  • Hemicarion semicalcareus Schepman, 1896[9]

Freshwater snails:

Freshwater bivalves:

  • Hyridella misoolensis (Schepman, 1897)[15]
  • Schepmania nieuwenhuisi (Schepman, 1898)
  • Nausitora hedleyi Schepman, 1919 – brackish water species

Sea snails (sorted chronologically):

Thumb
A shell of the deepwater slit snail Entemnotrochus rumphii, described and named by Schepman in 1879

1870s and 1890s

1903

1904

1907

1908

1909

Thumb
In the center of this image is a well-camouflaged live individual of Primovula roseomaculata, described and named by Schepman in 1909. Head end towards the top of the image; the red mantle is covering the shell entirely.

1911

1913

1914

1922

In honor

Taxa named in his honor include (sorted chronologically):

Marine snails:

Bivalves:

  • Neilonella schepmani Prashad, 1932
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See also

References

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Further reading

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