In 1854 he graduated from the
College d'Arras, followed by studies in medicine and zoology in
Paris. In 1861, he received his medical doctorate, then continued his zoological studies with
Henri Milne-Edwards (1800-1885), earning his degree in
natural sciences in 1865. In 1875, he became a professor at the
Museum of Natural History in Paris.
He held a special interest involving the
systematics and
anatomy of
turtles and
crocodiles, but also made significant contributions in his investigations of reptilian
physiology and behavior. Of his 200-plus scientific writings, 90 of them are based on
herpetological subjects.[1]
He participated in French naval expeditions on the Travailleur in 1880, 1881 and 1882 and on the Talisman in 1883.
Eponyms
The following are several species of marine organisms named after Léon Vaillant:
Études sur les poissons, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale - Study of fishes. (with
Marie Firmin Bocourt 1819-1904).
Essai sur le système pileux dans l'espèce humaine, 1861, medical dissertation.
Observations sur la constitution géologique de quelques terrains aux environs de Suez, 1865 - Observations on the
geological constitution of terrain and environs of
Suez.
Recherches sur la famille des Tridacnides, 1865 - Research of the family
Tridacninae.
Note sur quelques objets océaniens empruntés au test de différents mollusques, 1868, Bulletin de la société géologique de France. - Note on a few items from the Pacific borrowed in order to test different mollusks.
Mémoire sur la disposition des vertèbrés cervicales chez les chéloniens 1880 - Memoir on the disposition of
cervical vertebrae of
chelonians.
Expéditions scientifiques du travailleur et du Talisman pendant les annees 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883. Poissons, 1888 - Scientific expeditions of the Travailleur and the Talisman during the years 1880 to 1883.
Les tortues éteintes de l'île Rodriguez d'après les pièces conservées dans les galeries du Muséum, 1893 - Turles off of
Rodrigues, in reference to conserved pieces in the museum galleries.[7]
Histoire naturelle des reptiles. Première partie: Crocodiles et tortues, 1910 - Natural history of reptiles. first part: crocodiles and turtles.
^
abcdBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Vaillant", p. 271; "Ludovic", Latin for Louis, p. 162).