{{Short description|Belgian malacologist}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Koen Fraussen | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = <!--(filename only, i.e. without "File:" prefix)--> | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = 1965 | birth_place = | fields = Malacology | workplaces = Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle | education = | alma_mater = | known_for = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = Fraussen }} '''Koen Fraussen''' (born 1965)<ref>{{cite web |title=Fraussen, Koen, 1965-.... |url=https://viaf.org/viaf/6119338/ |website=viaf.org |access-date=9 February 2023}}</ref> is a Belgian amateur malacologist, shell collector, and expert in the Buccinoidea.
==Biography== Fraussen was born in Brussels. His interest in the ocean started during family holidays on the Adriatic Sea.<ref>{{cite news |last1=van Zon |first1=Hans |title=Wat het strand ons kan leren: van simpele zeepier tot oeroude fossiel |url=https://www.ad.nl/wetenschap/wat-het-strand-ons-kan-leren-van-simpele-zeepier-tot-oeroude-fossiel~ae177580/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |access-date=15 October 2023 |work=Algemeen Dagblad |date=9 April 2023}}</ref> He began collecting shells at the age of 2.<ref name=tc/>
Fraussen is a part-time bus driver who also studies whelk shells for the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. In exchange for his curatorial work, Fraussen is given a paratype of each specimen he identifies.<ref name=tc>{{cite journal |last1=Faugère |first1=Elsa |title=Échanges de coquillages entre amateurs et professionnels: L’économie morale des sciences naturalistes |journal=Techniques & Culture |date=15 December 2012 |issue=59 |pages=206–223 |doi=10.4000/tc.6652 |access-date=5 February 2023|url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01664805/document|doi-access=free }}</ref> Philippe Bouchet considers Fraussen "the world expert" on the Buccinidae.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rivera |first1=Luisa |title=Species Sleuths: Amateur Naturalists Spark a New Wave of Discovery |url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/field-sleuths-the-amateur-naturalists-who-are-discovering-new-species |website=Yale E360 |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>
In 2010, Fraussen and biologist Stefaan Wera released the book ''Schelpen aan de Belgische kust''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Houart |first1=Roland |title=Schelpen aan de Belgische kust |journal=Novopex |date=20 October 2010 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=93-94 |url=https://ia800707.us.archive.org/14/items/novapextrimestri10soci/novapextrimestri10soci.pdf |access-date=5 February 2023 |publisher=Belgian Malacological Society |issn=1375-7474}}</ref> With the Muséum National, Fraussen published 20 new species of the Photinae (subfamily of the Nassariidae) as of 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mêler biologie moléculaire et morphologie pour en découdre avec la systématique des Photinae… |url=https://www.mnhn.fr/fr/actualites/meler-biologie-moleculaire-et-morphologie-pour-en-decoudre-avec-la-systematique-des |website=Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle |access-date=5 February 2023 |language=fr |date=26 August 2017}}</ref>
==Legacy== Fraussen is honored by several eponyms, including ''Buccinum frausseni'', ''Conus frausseni'', ''Eccliseogyra frausseni'', ''Engina frausseni'', ''Fusinus frausseni'', ''Inquisitor frausseni'', ''Metaal frausseni'', ''Pristiterebra frausseni'', and ''Tomlinia frausseni''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Koen Fraussen: Shellers From the Past and the Present |url=https://www.conchology.be/?t=9001&id=18676 |website=Conchology |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraussen, Koen}}
Category:Belgian malacologists
Category:Living people Category:1965 births