| Xavier Mattei | |
| Birth Date: | 2 February 1939 |
| Citizenship: | France |
| Fields: | Zoology |
| Workplaces: | Cheikh Anta Diop University, University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli |
| Alma Mater: | Cheikh Anta Diop University |
| Known For: | sperm ultrastructure |
Xavier Mattei is a French zoologist;[1] his research was mainly in the field of sperm ultrastructure, including fish[2] and a variety of invertebrates such as flatworms[3] and acanthocephalans.[4]
He is one of the most prolific authors in the field of sperm morphology and its use for the understanding of phylogeny, with more than 150 papers published.[1]
Xavier Mattei was a student at the University of Dakar in Senegal, then he became "Assistant", later "Maître-Assistant" and finally Professor in 1978. He was the Director of the Department of Animal Biology in this University from 1972 to 1986. In 1993, he left Senegal for joining the University of Corsica until his retirement in 2000.
Xavier Mattei has established a Service of Electron Microscopy in the University of Dakar which allowed many researchers to study cell ultrastructure and produce a great number of scientific publications in the fields of zoology, cell biology, medicine and parasitology. This Service had three electron microscopes. He was the founder and the Head of this Service from 1970 to 1993.
Two species have been named in his honour: the Microsporidia Unikaryon matteii Toguebaye & Marchand, 1984[5] and the Acanthocephalan Mediorhynchus mattei Marchand & Vassiliadès, 1982.[6] Both are parasitic species collected from animals in Senegal.
As an amateur archaeologist, Xavier Mattei collected many artifacts in the Senegalese village of La Somone, South of Dakar, over a period of more than 40 years. His findings were published in a book in 2015.[7]
After his retirement, Xavier Mattei published three books of cartoons about Corsica.