Alcide d'Orbigny

Palms: Segments of Bactris Brongniartii, Bactris faucium, Martinezia truncata and Diplothemium Toralli.

Alcide d’Orbigny arrived in South America in 1826, preceding Charles Darwin’s Beagle expedition by five years and causing Darwin great concern that d’Orbigny would find all the best things first. Indeed in the nearly eight years d’Orbigny spent exploring Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, he catalogued and theorised on over 10,000 species of flora and fauna. These plates capture a moment in time when nature seemed to be unfolding countless mysteries to the naturalists crisscrossing the globe in the hopes of being the first to record heretofore unknown species.

Although in his time d’Orbigny rivalled Darwin in his pursuits and is considered the founder of micropaleontology and biostratigraphy, for the most part he has faded in the shadow of his rival. Even the magnificent flightless bird he first recorded is now known as Darwin’s Rhea having been incorrectly named by an unwitting John Gould.