The polymath who described the Rufus snake-eel in 1810 was self-educated in what country?
Rufus snake-eel The Rufus snake-eel (Ophichthus rufus) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810, originally under the genus "Echelus". It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, including Algeria, Albania, Croatia, Egypt, France, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Israel, Montenegro, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Turkey. It inhabits mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 60 cm .
Sarah Bradford Ripley Sarah Bradford Ripley (July 31, 1793-July 26, 1867) was an American educator and noted scholar at a time when women were rarely admitted to universities. She acquired most of her knowledge of the classics, philosophy, modern languages, botany, astronomy, and chemistry through independent study. She was reputedly "one of the most learned women of the nineteenth century."