Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator, a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Merian family. Merian was one of the first naturalists to observe insects directly.
Maria Sibylla Merian
Her drawings of Surinam animal and plant life is so accurate that entomologists who analysed her study journal from the expedition could identify 73 percent of the lepidopterans by their genus and 66 percent as exact species. Some of the animals and plants she drew are likely to have since become extinct. Her drawings are part of the scientific exploration by Europeans. Early taxonomy of tropical plants relied on images or specimens. Following her return to Amsterdam the images she had made were used by Carl Linnaeus and others to identify one hundred or so new species. At the time there was no standardised scientific terminology to name plants and animals, so Merian used common everyday European words to describe Surinam's animals, such as silkworm or wasp. As such she referred to butterflies as "summer birds". However, based on her drawings Linnaeus classified Surinam's animals in 1735 and 1753. He used Merian's drawings to describe 56 animals and 39 plants, including the tarantula. In reference to her research Linnaeus abbreviated her name into "Mer.sruin" for animals from Surinam, and "Mer.eur" for European insects.