Wiegmann Arend Friedrich August 1802-1841

Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (2 June 1802 – 15 January 1841) was a German

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

. He studied medicine and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, and afterwards was an assistant to

Martin Lichtenstein Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein (10 January 1780 – 2 September 1857) was a German physician, explorer, botanist and zoologist. Biography Born in Hamburg, Lichtenstein was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein. He studied medicine ...

(1780–1857) in Berlin. In 1828 he became a professor at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, and two years later was an extraordinary professor at the

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

in Berlin. Wiegmann specialized in the study of herpetology and mammalogy. In 1835, he founded, together with other scholars, the zoological periodical ''

Archiv für Naturgeschichte ''Archiv für Naturgeschichte'' was a German-language journal for natural history. It was founded by A. F. A. Wiegmann in 1835. The journal was published in Berlin from 1835 to 1926. There were 92 published volumes. From 1912 to 1926 each volume w ...

'', also known as "Wiegmann's Archive". With

Johann Friedrich Ruthe Johann Friedrich Ruthe Ruthé or von Ruthe (16 April 1788 in Eggenstädt, near Hildesheim – 24 August 1859 in Berlin) was a German teacher (Oberlehrer), botanist and entomologist. In the field of entomology he specialised in Hymenoptera and D ...

(1788–1859) he wrote an important

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

called ''Handbuch der Zoologie'', and in 1834 Wiegmann published ''Herpetologia Mexicana'', a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s of Mexico. In 1841 he died of tuberculosis at the age of 38 in Berlin. His father

Arend Friedrich Wiegmann Arend Joachim Friedrich Wiegmann (30 March 1770 – 12 March 1853) was a German pharmacist and botanist born in Hadersleben. He was the father of zoologist Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (1802-1841). Originally an apprentice pharmacist to his u ...

(1771–1853) a German researcher in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

Species described by Wiegmann

Of the many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

s which he described, 55 species are still considered valid, among which are: *''

Gerrhonotus liocephalus ''Gerrhonotus liocephalus'', the Texas alligator lizard or Wiegmann's alligator lizard, is a species of lizard of the Anguidae family. It is found in Texas, Mexico and Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, ...

'' in 1828 *''

Heloderma horridum ''Heloderma'' is a genus of toxicoferan lizards that contains five species, all of which are venomous. It is the only extant genus of the family Helodermatidae. Description The genus ''Heloderma'' contains the Gila monster (''H. suspectum'') ...

'', the venomous Mexican beaded lizard, in 1829 *''

Pelodiscus sinensis The Chinese softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus sinensis'') is a species of softshell turtle that is native to China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced ...

'' in 1834 *''

Laemanctus longipes The eastern casquehead iguana (''Laemanctus longipes'') is a species of lizard in the family Corytophanidae. The species is native to Mexico and Central America. Geographic range ''L. longipes'' is found in the southern Mexican states of Coli ...

'' also in 1834 *''

Scincus hemprichii ''Scincus hemprichii'' is a species of lizard which is endemic to Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Penins ...

'' in 1837 He also described several new species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

Species named in honor of Wiegmann

Wiegmann is commemorated in the scientific names of three species of Reptiles:Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Wiegmann", p. 285). *'' Liolaemus wiegmannii'' *''

Otocryptis wiegmanni ''Otocryptis wiegmanni'', commonly called the brown-patched kangaroo lizard, Sri Lankan kangaroo lizard or Wiegmann's agama, is a small, ground-dwelling agamid lizard endemic to Sri Lanka. Etymology The specific name, ''wiegmanni'', is in hono ...

'' *''

Trogonophis wiegmanni The checkerboard worm lizard (''Trogonophis wiegmanni'') is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Trogonophidae. The species is monotypic within the genus ''Trogonophis'',1802 births 1841 deaths 19th-century German zoologists Scientists from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick German herpetologists Leipzig University alumni {{Germany-zoologist-stub