Gustave Cotteau

Gustave Honoré Cotteau (17 December 1818, Auxerre – 10 August 1894, Paris) was a French judge, naturalist and paleontologist.

Biography He was educated in classical studies at the college in Auxerre, then studied law in Paris. He earned his law degree in 1840 and in 1846 was named a deputy judge in Auxerre. Later on, he served as a judge in the civil court of Coulommiers and as a civil court judge in Auxerre. He was also curator of the city museum in Auxerre.

He is best known for his study of living and fossil echinoids (sea urchins), of which, he amassed a collection of more than 500 different species. With Jules Triger, he circumscribed the fossil family Archiaciidae (1869).

In 1874 and 1886 he was president of the Société géologique de France. He was also a member of the Société d'Anthropologie de Paris and of the Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l'Yonne. The following are some of his many written works: