astronomy

Paul Gervais

Paul Gervais is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul Gervais rather than just read about it. In short: Paul Gervais (full name: François Louis Paul Gervais) (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine, and in 1835 he began palaeontological research as assistant in the laboratory of comparative anatomy at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.

Key takeaways

Paul Gervais belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul Gervais to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul Gervais from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul Gervais (full name: François Louis Paul Gervais) (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist.

Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine, and in 1835 he began palaeontological research as assistant in the laboratory of comparative anatomy at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. In 1841 he obtained the chair of zoology and comparative anatomy at the Faculty of Sciences in Montpellier, of which he was in 1856 appointed dean. In 1848–1852 appeared his important work Zoologie et paléontologie françaises, supplementary to the palaeontological publications of Georges Cuvier and Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville; of this a second and greatly improved edition was issued in 1859. In 1865 he accepted the professorship of zoology at the Sorbonne, vacant through the death of Louis Pierre Gratiolet; this post he left in 1868 for the chair of comparative anatomy at the Paris museum of natural history, the anatomical collections of which were greatly enriched by his exertions. He died in Paris on 10 February 1879. According to Florentino Ameghino, Paul Gervais studied a fossil collection obtained from Juan Manuel de Rosas the governor of Buenos Aires. Earlier on, this collection would have been donated or donated-by-force to the Buenos Aires Province by Francisco Javier Muñiz.

Legacy Gervais is commemorated in the vernacular and scientific names of the following taxa:

a species of snake, Calamaria gervaisii. a species of cetacean, Gervais' beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus).

Works Apart from the works mentioned previously he also wrote:

with Charles Athanase Walckenaer Histoire naturelle des insectes (4 vols., 1836–1847) Zoologie et paléontologie françaises (1848–1852) Histoire naturelle des Mammifères (1853) Zoologie médicale (1859), mit Pierre-Joseph van Beneden Recherches sur l'ancienneté de l'homme et la période quaternaire (1867) Zoologie et Paléontologie générales (1867) Ostéographie des cétacés vivants et fossiles (1869), with Pierre-Joseph van Beneden[1]

Species first described by Gervais Brachistosternus ehrenbergii Gervais' beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus)

See also Category:Taxa named by Paul Gervais

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gervais, Paul". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 907.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Gervais

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Gervais claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Gervais before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Gervais ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Gervais

In research: Paul Gervais appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Gervais in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Gervais is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1816 births, 1879 deaths, 19th-century French zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Gervais outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Paul Gervais” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Paul Gervais in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul Gervais means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paul Gervais out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Gervais in simple terms?

Paul Gervais (full name: François Louis Paul Gervais) (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine, and in 1835 he began palaeontological research as ass…

Why does Paul Gervais matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Gervais?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Gervais.