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Per Theodor Cleve (1840-1905): The Prolific Part-Time Protistologist and Oceanographer

Publication date: 24.01.2025

Acta Protozoologica, 2025, Volume 64, pp. 1-10

https://doi.org/10.4467/16890027AP.25.001.21142

Authors

John R. Dolan
Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer, CNRS-Sorbonne Université UMR7093, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, IMEV, Station Zoologique
, France
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Per Theodor Cleve (1840-1905): The Prolific Part-Time Protistologist and Oceanographer

Abstract

Per Theodor Cleve is known as a 19th century chemist, credited with discovery of two rare-earth elements. However, throughout his distinguished career as a chemist, he was also a protistologist. From 1863 to 1905, Cleve published prodigiously on protists, authoring over 70 works totaling about 2,500 pages, and he described numerous taxa, especially from the marine plankton. Notably, many of Cleve's works are still cited today. His work concerning the utility of certain protist species in characterizing water masses has been recognized in histories of Oceanography. However, Cleve is not a familiar name to many of us, as he has been consistently overlooked in histories of protistology. Here, first Cleve's life is summarized, and then his contributions to protistology, and oceanography, are reviewed to show his significant, and neglected, contributions to the fields.  

References

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Information: Acta Protozoologica, 2025, Volume 64, pp. 1-10

Article type: Review article

Authors

Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer, CNRS-Sorbonne Université UMR7093, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, IMEV, Station Zoologique
France

Published at: 24.01.2025

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY 4.0  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

John R. Dolan (Author) - 100%

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English

Per Theodor Cleve (1840-1905): The Prolific Part-Time Protistologist and Oceanographer

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