Andrea Aradas

Andrea Aradas
Born(1810-07-09)9 July 1810
Catania, Sicily, Kingdom of Sicily
Died1 November 1882(1882-11-01) (aged 72)
Viagrande, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
EducationUniversity of Catania
Known forMalacology
Scientific career
FieldsZoology, comparative anatomy
WorkplacesUniversity of Catania

Andrea Aradas (9 July 1810 – 1 November 1882) was an Italian zoologist and anatomist. He was one of the most important malacologists of the 19th century.

Biography

Aradas was the son of Ferdinando Aradas, chief physician at the Santa Marta Hospital in Catania. His father introduced him at an early age to the intellectual milieu of the Gioenia Academy. He graduated in medicine at a young age and subsequently developed an interest in zoology, continuing his studies in the field at the University of Catania.

Aradas taught zoology at the University of Catania from 1852 and subsequently also taught comparative anatomy.

During his career, Aradas collected a large number of shells, both fossil and living. After his death, his historic collection was donated to the University of Catania. The Catania Museum of Zoology, which he founded in 1853 and which was attached to the university's Department of Animal Biology, is considered one of the earliest scientific museums in Sicily. Aradas continued to devote himself to the museum and to zoological research until his death. Another important Aradas collection, consisting of shells from around the world, particularly Sicily, was later acquired by the Civic Museum of Natural History of Milan.

Works

Aradas's most important work was Conchigliologia vivente marina della Sicilia e delle isole che la circondano, written in collaboration with Luigi Benoit and published in the proceedings of the Gioenia Academy; the work appeared over several years, with the complete publication traditionally dated to 1872–1876. Aradas also served as director of the Gioenia Academy. The work is regarded as an important contribution to the study of the Mediterranean malacofauna and remains an important historical source for the molluscan fauna of Sicily.

Aradas studied the fauna of Sicily extensively, with particular emphasis on molluscs and on living and fossil echinoderms. Among his other important works was Catalogo ragionato delle conchiglie viventi e fossili di Sicilia, published in collaboration with Giacomo Maggiore during the 1840s, as well as the Monografia degli Echinidi viventi e fossili della Sicilia (1850–1853). His studies made important contributions to zoology, zoogeography, and paleontology.

In his general ideas concerning biology, Aradas defended a form of vitalism and was highly critical of Darwin's theory of evolution. He expressed these views in Ricerche e riflessioni su' principi fondamentali della scienza della vita, published in Catania in 1864. Aradas did not fully accept Darwinian evolutionary theory.

References

  1. ↑ Novarese, Daniela (2011). Accademie e scuole: istituzioni, luoghi, personaggi, immagini della cultura e del potere. Giuffrè Editore. p. 486.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Alberghina, Mario (2005). L'Accademia Gioenia: 180 anni di cultura scientifica (1824–2004): protagonisti, luoghi e vicende di un circolo di dotti. Maimone.
  3. 1 2 Dollo, Corrado (2005). Il positivismo in Sicilia: filosofia, istituzioni di cultura e condizionamenti sociali. Rubbettino Editore. p. 191.
  4. 1 2 Giarrizzo, Giuseppe, ed. (2001). Lezioni inaugurali 1861–1999. Parte prima (1861–1884) (PDF). Catania: University of Catania. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Montalenti, Giuseppe (1961). "Aradas, Andrea". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Vol. 3. Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana.
  6. ↑ "Il Museo di Zoologia". University of Catania, Section of Animal Biology. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Collezione Aradas". Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano.
  8. ↑ Aradas, Andrea; Benoit, Luigi (1870). Conchigliologia vivente marina della Sicilia e delle isole che la circondano. Catania: Stabilimento tipografico di C. Galatola.
  9. 1 2 Aradas, Andrea; Benoit, Luigi (1872). "Conchigliologia vivente marina della Sicilia e delle isole che la circondano". Atti dell'Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali in Catania. 3. 6: 1–113 (1872), 113–226 (1874), 227–324 (1876).
  10. ↑ Cattaneo-Vietti, Riccardo; Russo, G. (2019). "A brief history of the Italian marine biology". Italian Journal of Zoology.
  11. ↑ Aradas, Andrea (1850). Monografia degli echinidi viventi e fossili di Sicilia. Catania: F. Sciuto.
  12. ↑ Sparacio, Ignazio (2022). "The contribution of the Sicilian naturalists to the knowledge of circumsicilian islands during the 19th century" (PDF). Biodiversity Journal. 13 (1): 187–280.
  13. ↑ Aradas, Andrea (1864). Ricerche e riflessioni su' principi fondamentali della scienza della vita. Catania: Crescenzio Galàtola. p. 31.