Joseph Pitty Couthouy

Joseph Pitty Couthouy (6 January 1808 – 4 April 1864) was an American naval officer, conchologist, and invertebrate palaeontologist.

Couthouy applied to President Andrew Jackson for a position on the Scientific Corps of the U.S. Navy's Exploring Expedition of 1838.

Eventually, he dismissed according to Charles Wilkes for attempting to "promote dissension, bring me into disrepute, and destroy the harmony and efficiency of the Squadron.

"[1]: 137, 147, 180, 219 In 1854, he took command of an expedition to the Bay of Cumaná, where he spent three unsuccessful years in search of the wreck of the Spanish treasure ship San Pedro, lost there in the early part of the century.

[1]: 379 A good linguist, he spoke fluent Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, and had mastered several dialects used in the Pacific Islands.