‘Ante litteram’ biodiversity research in central Italy: Antonio Carruccio and the first ornithological specimen-based research programme in Rome (1883–1914)

There is a lack of awareness that the current biodiversity knowledge has a long history of individual and institutional scientific enquiries well before the term was coined. Here, we deal specifically with the ornithological work coordinated by Antonio Carruccio, who was Head of the Institute of Zoology at Rome University from 1883 to 1914. An advocate of zoological systematics, Carruccio oversaw the establishment of rich collections in the Zoological Museum with a strong emphasis on the Roman Collection, which he established. In 1892, he also founded the Society for Zoological Studies which encouraged, for the first time in Rome, the growth of a wider audience of researchers, both professionally-trained and amateurs, interested in biodiversity. The legacy of Carruccio’s work was long-lasting and includes some interesting aspects, such as the collaboration between the academic world and interested citizens or the birth of a conservation interest, that deserves a greater attention by current generations of historians, zoologists and conservationists.