Eponyms as scientific recognition to Queen Astrid and King Leopold III of Belgium
Samyn, Y.; Van Goethem, J. (2021). Eponyms as scientific recognition to Queen Astrid and King Leopold III of Belgium. Bionomina 22(1): 8-38. https://dx.doi.org/10.11646/bionomina.22.1.2
This contribution provides an annotated list of taxa named after Queen Astrid and King Leopold III of Belgium, including the time they were Crown Prince Leopold and Princess Astrid of Belgium. The list was compiled by searching online nomenclators as well as ‘logical’ publications in which taxonomists would have published taxa named in honour of Leopold III and Astrid. In total, we discovered 144 scientific names that are based on the name of Leopold III and 26 that honour Astrid. Moreover, serendipitously we found several eponyms given to cultivars which we document only in an incidental way. The compiled impressive number of eponyms demonstrates the recognition of members of the scientific community towards the efforts of the Belgian Royal Household in the exploration and conservation of biodiversity. The legacy of Leopold III lives on in the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation. The workings and achievements of the latter organization are here also briefly detailed.
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