p. A. LATREILLE. 



■^ife-** 



Latreille, Peter Andrew, a very distinguished and active natu- 

 ralist, was born in 1762. From early youth he devoted himgelf to the 

 study of natural history, and was latterly Professor of Zoology at the 

 Museum of Natural History in Paris. He was also a member of the Aca- 

 demy, of the Legion of Honour, &c. Of his works on natural history, 

 the most important are Precis des Characteres gSneriques des Insectes, 

 1797 : Histoire Nat. des Salamandres de France, with engravings, 

 1800 : Histoire Nat. des Singes, faisant Partie de celle de Quadru- 

 pedes de Buffon, 2 vols. 1801 : Histoire Nat. des Reptiles, faisant 

 Partie du Buffon de M. Castel, 4 vols. 1 802 : Essai sur l' Histoire des 

 Fourmis, 8j-c., with engravings, 1802: Genera Crustaceorum et In- 

 sectorum, with coloured engravings, 1 806 — ] 809 : Considerations gen. 

 sur VOrdre naturel des Animaux, composant les classes des Crusta- 

 cees, des Arachnides etdes Insectes, 1810 : Memoir es sur divers sujets 

 de I'Hisioire Nat. des Insectes, de Geographic ancienne et de Chro- 

 nologic, 1819 : Families naturelles duRegne Animal, 1825. Owing 

 to the discontinuance of the venerable Lamarck's Lectures on the Inver- 

 tebrated Animals at the Jardin des Plantes, not long before the appear- 

 ance of the last-named work, the duty devolved on M. Latreille, who 

 thereafter extended his studies to other departments of natural history 

 than those over which he had made himself master previously. About 

 the same period Cuvier confided to him that portion of the last edition 

 of the Animal Kingdom which treats of the Crustacea, Arachnides, and 

 Insecta. He was also engaged upon a Popular Introduction to Entomo- 



