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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 50(1), 1996, 92-95
OBITUARY
Alexandre Constantinovich Chneour (Schneeur) (1884-1977)
Alexandre Constantinovich Chneour, a very enthusiastic avocational lepidopterist and herpetologist, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 30 August 1884. When publishing in German in the 1930s, he used "Schneeur" for his surname. I was informed that his name is of German origin. Between 1934 and 1963 he published on the Macrolepidoptera of Tunisia, and he was especially interested in their zoogeography. He died in his 93rd year, on 16 September 1977, at the Laguna Honda Hospital, in San Francisco, California, after some years of declining health.
Alexandre Chneour told me that he became interested in butterflies as a boy, and as a young man he travelled to Germany and Switzerland. In St. Petersburg he attended the private Gurevich Middle School and then applied and was accepted into the Mihailovsky Artillery School. Upon graduation, with the rank of lieutenant, he entered service as an officer of a horse artillery unit. During the First World War he distinguished himself and was awarded several battle decorations. In 1916 he was transferred to the Russian Air Force, completed a two month long course in the Kiev School for Observers, and started a brief career in aviation. He also attended wartime accelerated studies in the Academy of the General Staff, and graduated in February 1917.
During the Civil War in Russia between 1917 and 1922, he joined the ranks of the White Anti-Communist "Volunteer" Army, as opposed to the Red Communist Army, and he fought the Reds mostly in the Caucasus region. After the end of this struggle he was evacuated with others from Russia to the Gallipoli Camp in Turkey. He then moved to Bulgaria where he was a lecturer in the Officers Engineering School, lecturing to the still remaining organized Russian Army Units (in both this and in the former camp in Turkey).
Alexandre Chneour then found refuge in Lyon, France. In 1929 he moved to Tunisia, which was then a French colony, as a member of the French Geographical Department, working as a draftsman for the Department of Roads and Bridges. He resided in Tunis until Tunisian independence in 1956 forced his move. He was admitted as an immigrant to the United States on 2 June 1956. He lived at first in the New York City area, and he studied at the American Museum of Natural History in 1961 verifying his Tunisian identifications. In 1963, Chneour published in French a resume of his Lepidoptera work in Tunisia, with the translated title of "Twenty-six years of work of a lepidopterist in Tunisia," which covered the years from 1930 to 1956.
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In 1934 Chneour commenced publishing on the Tunisian lepidopteran fauna, beginning with six papers published in German in German journals under the name "Schneeur" (between 1934 to 1937), followed by fourteen papers in French (from 1942 to 1963) primarily in Tunisian journals. He was also very helpful to Soures in his study of the harmful Lepidoptera of Tunisia (Soures 1950), and is so acknowledged and the California Academy of Sciences copy of the publication is dedicated "A M. Chneour, l'Eleve a son Maitre. l'auteur reconnaissant, Soures." Alexandre Chneour was also interested in the herpetofauna of Tunisia and coauthored a study of "Les Serpents de Tunisie" (Chpakowsky & Chneour 1954).
Rindge (1967:180) reported that Chenour's primary collection of Tunisian Macrolepidoptera, consisting of 806 specimens, including primary types of 11 taxa (four Pieridae, four Satyridae, one Noctuidae, and two Lasiocampidae), had been donated to the Lepidoptera collection of the American Museum of Natural History. In a summary article on his Lepidoptera studies in Tunisia, Chneour (1963:109) reported 603 species of Macrolepidoptera in his collection, in contrast to only 93 taxa of Microlepidoptera. He stated that the low number of the latter was due to specialists who still had his specimens out on loan. These microlepidopterans probably must still exist in various collections in western Europe. Chneour donated 415 specimens to the California Academy of Sciences, which were accessioned between 17 June 1964 and 20 May 1969, including at least five North African Satyridae, with one labeled as paratype of Satyrus colombati stellifer Chneour.
Alexandre Chneours longest entomological association was with the Societe entomologique de France, becoming a member in 1942. When in the United States, he became a member of the Lepidopterists' Society and is listed in the 1964 (Downey 1964:8) and 1967 (Downey 1967:9) membership lists.
In San Francisco, Alexandre Chneour resided at 1830 Divisadero Street. In his latter 80s this gentleperson was viciously mugged while entering his apartment, and required hospitalization. His last years were spent as a resident of the Laguna Honda Home and Hospital. At the time of his death Alexandre Chneour was survived by his sister-in-law Mrs. Tatiana Miller, who told me of his wish that I notify the Societe entomologique de France of his death after that occurred. His third wife Elizabeth (nee Tirnstein) died in San Francisco in 1971.
I acknowledge the assistance of the following individuals who provided information and/or editorial assistance: Veronica Ahrens-Pulawski, Tatiana Miller, and Valeree Milanovanovich Tomitch of San Francisco; Nicholas Zakharoff of San Vito, Costa Rica; Ron Leuschner of Manhattan Beach; Frederick H. Rindge, American Museum of
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Natural History; and at the California Academy of Sciences, Lawrence W. Currie, Jr. and Patty Shea-Diner of the J. W. Maillard Jr. Library, and Madeline M. Arnaud, Helen K. Court, and Vincent F. Lee of the Department of Entomology. John Tennents (of Flyingthorpe, Whitby, North Yorkshire) inquiry for information on Alexandre Chneour (Tennent 1994:99) instigated the preparation of this article, and he also provided information. A more detailed account on Alexandre Chneour will be published in volume six of the publication Myia. No portrait of Alexandre Chneour is currently available.
Literature Cited
CHPAKOWSKY, N. & A. CHNEOUR. 1954. Les serpents de Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat.
Tunisie (1952/1953) 6:125-146. DOWNEY, J. C. 1964. List of members. News Lepid. Soc., August 1964:1-22.
----------. 1967. List of members. News Lepid. Soc., January 1967:1-26.
LUCAS, D. 1942. Contribution a l'etude des Lepidopteres de l'Afrique du Nord. Bull.
Soc. entomol. France 47:122-126. ----------. 1943. Contribution a la faune des Lepidopteres de l'Afrique du Nord. Bull. Soc.
entomol. France 48:145-146. ----------. 1946. Lepidopteres nouveaux pour l'Afrique du Nord. Bull. Soc. entomol. France
51:96-98. ----------. 1951. Contribution a l'etude des Lepidopteres Nord-Africains. Bull. Soc. entomol. France (1950) 55:141-144. RlNDGE, F. H. 1967. Recent additions to the Lepidoptera collection of the American
Museum of Natural History. J. Lepid. Soc. 21:180. RUNGS, C. 1951. Un nouvel arctiide tunisien [Lep.]. Bull. Soc. entomol. France 56:99-
101. SOURES, B. 1950. Contribution a l'etude des Lepidopteres de la Tunisie. Biologie des
especes nuisibles ou susceptibles de le devenir. Ann. Ser. Bot. Agron. Tunisie (1948)
21:[1]-211. TENNENT, J. 1994. [Research notices.] Wanted [information on Alexandre Chneour].
News Lepid. Soc. 1994:99.
Publications on Lepidoptera by Alexandre Chneour (Schneeur) 1934. Die Tagfaltervon Mittel-Tunis. Entomol. Zeit. Frankfurt-M. 48:36-37, 41-46. ["Von
A. Schneeur."] [Papilla machaon chrysostoma Chneour, new form; Euchloe belemia
marmorata Chneour, new form; Leucochloe daplidice hiherna Chneour, new form.] 1935a. Beschreibung einer neuen Aberration von Satyrus abdelkader Pier. Entomol. Zeit.
Frankfurt-M. 48:190—191. ["Von A. Schneeur, Tunis."] [Satyrus abdelkader marteni
Chneour, new aberration.] 1935b. Eine neue Form von Euchloe fallow All. Entomol. Zeit. Frankfurt-M. 49:49. ["Von
A. Schneeur, Tunis."] [Euchloe falloui choumovitschi Chneour, new form.] 1936a. Einige Bemerkungen nebst Verbesserungen liber das Werk Bodo v. Bodemeyers
"Ueber meine entomologischen Reisen" und der merkwurdigen verbreitungsgrenze
der Falter in Nord-Afrika. Entomol. Zeit. Frankfurt-M. 49:480-481. ["Von A.
Schneeur, Tunis."] 1936b. Die Nachtfalter von Mittel-Tunis. Entomol. Zeit. Frankfurt-M. 50:190-194. ["Von
A. Schneeur, Tunis."] 1937. Djebel Fartettu, die Schmetterlingsberge, nebst Beschreibung einer neuen Form
von Satyrus abdelkader. Entomol. Zeit. Frankfurt-M. 51:338—340. ["Von A. Schneeur,
Tunis."] [Satyrus abdelkader alexander Chneour, new aberration.] 1939. Les macro-lepidopteres de Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. l'Afrique du Nord 30:14-
26.
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1942a. Contribution a Fetude des macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat.
l'Afrique du Nord 33:43-58. [Satyrus colornbati stellifer Chneour, new aberration;
Satyrus statilinus Chpakowskyi Chneour, new subspecies; Lasiocampa trifolii Lutz-
ernowi Chneour, new aberration.] 1942b. Une nouvelle heterocere trouvee en Tunisie: Simyra Chpakoivskyi nov. spec. (Lep.
Noctuidae). Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. l'Afrique du Nord 33:86—87. [Simyra Chpakotvskyi
Chneour, new species.]
1948. Contribution a Fetude des macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. l'Afrique du Nord (1947) 38:18-31. [Euchloe faloui Elisabethae Chneour, new variety; Euchloe faloui nigromarginata Chneour, new form; Gonopteryx Cleopatra hicolorata Chneour (authorship attributed to Soures), new variety.]
1949. Contribution a Fetude des macrolepidopteres de Tunisie (suite). Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. l'Afrique du Nord (1948) 39:70-96.
1950a. Contribution a Fetude des macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. Description d'une noc-
tuide rare Agrotis imperator Bang-Haas (Lepidoptere). Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. l'Afrique
du Nord (1949) 40:196-197. 1950b. [Description of Lasiocampa trifolii Chpakowskyi Chneour, new subspecies.], pp.
150-151, In Soures, B., Contribution a Fetude des Lepidopteres de la Tunisie. Biol-
ogie des especes nuisibles ou susceptibles de le devenir. Ann. Ser. Bot. Agr. Tunisie
(1948), 21. [Lasiocampa trifolii Chpakowskyi Chneour, new subspecies.] 1952. Contribution a Fetude des macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat.
l'Afrique du Nord (1950) 41:41-47. [Pieris rapae minor Nana Chneour, new variety;
Satyrus sylvicola Cordieri Chneour, new variety [should have been cordierae since it
was named after "Mile Cordier, Docteur de Flnstitut Arloing de Tunis"]; Erias in-
sulana Bedei Chneour, new variety.] 1954a. Migrations des papillons dans la zone mediterraneenne, principalement en ce qui
concerne la Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat. Tunisie, (1952/1953) 6:63-70. 1954b. Presence en Tunisie de Danais chrysippus L. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat. Tunisie (1952/
1953) 6:123. 1954c. Macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. I, II.—Bhopalocera, Crypocera. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat.
Tunisie 7:207-239. 1955. Sur la repartition en Afrique du Nord des especes de Fancien genre Satyrus (s.l.)
et sur une particularite propre a certaines formes meridionales de ce genre. Bull.
Soc. Sci. Nat. Tunisie 8:131-133. 1956a. Macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. III. Bombyces. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat. Tunisie (1954/
1955) 8:255-278. 1956b. Macrolepidopteres de Tunisie. IV. Sphinges. Bull. Soc. Sci. Nat. Tunisie (1954/
1955) 8:279-293. 1963. Vingt-six ans de travail d'un lepidopteriste en Tunisie. Alexanor 3:105—110.
Some Patronyms Honoring Alexandre Chneour
Capitalization of new taxa is given as originally proposed, with the type locality at the end of each citation.
Cerostoma Chneourellum Lucas, 1943:146. Tunisia: Maknassy. Chloridea peltigera Chneouri Soures, 1950:132. Tunisia. Crambus Chneouri Lucas, 1942:122. Tunisia: Protoille et Sbei'tla. Moenas chneouri Rungs, 1951:99-101. Tunisia: Sbei'tla. Mymecozela Chneouri Lucas, 1942:126. Tunisia: Sbei'tla. Tephris chneourella Lucas, 1946:97. Tunisia: Nefta. Tineola chneourella Lucas, 1951:143. Tunisia: Maknassy.
PAUL H. ARNAUD, Jr., California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118, USA.
Received and accepted for publication 30 July 1995.