Background
Born in Créteil on June 14, 1920, Jacques Forest grew up in Maubeuge.
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Jacques Forest
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Career
He served in the army for a year during the Second World War, and went on to study at the University of Lille after demobilisation. After graduating, he worked for several years for the Office Scientifique et Technique des Pêches Maritimes ("scientific and technical office for marine fisheries". Now part of IFREMER).
His early publications concerned a variety of fish species.
In 1949, he joined the Muséum national d"histoire naturelle in Paris, where he would remain for the rest of his career. In association with Jean-Louis Fage, Forest began working on hermit crabs, and rapidly became an expert.
He described over 70 new species in the family Diogenidae, for example. He also published on other Decapoda, including crabs and, most significantly, Neoglyphea inopinata, a living species of a group previously considered long-since extinct.
Forest was also an enthusiastic field biologist, and took part in several oceanographic expeditions.
He launched the MUSORSTOM expeditions in 1976. He was also involved with the scientific journals Bulletin du Muséum national d"Histoire naturelle and Crustaceana. Forest retired on October 1, 1989, at the age of 69, and continued to be involved with the journal Crustaceana until 2003.
He died on February 16, 2012.
Taxa named in honour of Jacques Forest include:
Genera
Forestia Guinot, 1976
Pagurojacquesia de Saint Laurent & McLaughlin, 2000 (replacement name for Jacquesia de Saint Laurent & McLaughlin, 1999)
Jacforus Ng & Clark, 2003
Species.
