Taxonomic history of Eriocheir sinensis
Illustration of Eriocheir sinensis that accompanied the 1854 description by H. Milne Edwards in the Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle.
Henri Milne Edwards gave a detailed description of Eriocheir sinensis in volume 7 of the Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in 1854, comprising 3 pages of text and a beautiful illustration.
This 1854 publication is often cited as the authority for E. sinensis. However H. Milne Edwards had briefly described the species in another journal that was published the previous year. Since this 1853 description constitutes a valid indication according to rules laid out in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 1999, the correct authority of the species is Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853.
It appears that H. Milne Edwards may have preferred his 1854 description of the new species, however, or that it should have appeared first, as he cites figure 1 from it in the synonymy of Eriochirus sinensis published in 1853 (note the erroneous spelling of the genus name).
Henri Milne Edwards (1800-1885)
The French naturalist Henri Milne Edwards became a professor at the Sorbonne in 1843. He served at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, as professor from 1841 and as director from 1864.
He wrote an important work on crustaceans (1834-1840).
He is cited as H. Milne Edwards to avoid confusion with his son, Alphonse Milne Edwards (1835-1900), who was also a naturalist.
A more detailed discussion can be found in:
Clark PF (2006) Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards: 1853 or 1854 - Grapsidae or Varunidae? Aquatic Invasions 1: 17-27, Figs 1-9.