Post-Linnean Studies on Decapod Crustaceans in Italy: from Olivi (1792) to Caroli (1950)

The "Zoologia Adriatica" by G. Olivi, printed in 1792, has a special place among the earliest Italian contributions to the knowledge of Mediterranean decapods. In the first half of the XIX century studies on Decapods also flourished in Sicily and Napoli. The most outstanding contribution being the volume on Crustacea of the "Fauna del Regno di Napoli" published, in issues, by O.G. Costa and his son A. Costa. The Zoological Station, established in Napoli in 1872, fostered the studies of marine life and several scientists worked on Mediterranean decapods in this institution. The interests of Italian naturalists have not been restricted to the Mediterranean fauna, as rich collections from all over the world were brought to Italy by merchants, explorers and the ships of the Italian Navy (Regia Marina). The most renowned Italian decapodologist is Nobili, who worked at the Zoological Museum of Torino University and described over 200 new taxa of decapods from SouthAmerica, the Red Sea and the Indo-West Pacific region. Italy never had a National Museum of Natural History, and the collections studied by many eminent zoologists are now spread among universities and civic Museums. Unfortunately, significant losses were registered in the past due toWorldWar II events and, at times, to the lack of funds necessary for basic curatorial work.