Andrea Aradas

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.

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. Aradas also served as director of the Gioenia Academy. 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). Aradas did not fully accept Darwinian evolutionary theory.