Atmaram Sadashiv Grandin/Grovindin Jayakar (1844–1911), known also as Muscati, was an Indian naturalist,

military physician The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean: *A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs (both preventive and interventional) of sold ...

, and

colonial administrator Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

in the British Empire. Jayakar, who was of

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

Pathare Prabhu origin, began his studies in India where he earned his Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery, and then went to England to complete his medical studies. Later, he returned to India to work in the Indian Medical Service, in which he ultimately achieved the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In 1873, he was sent by the British Empire to the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (an Arab country that was under a British protectorate) to deal with the health of the people of Muscat, in which capacity he also served as a personal physician to Sultan Turki bin Said. He was the acting

political agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs *Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

from 2 March 1889 to 30 March 1889, and again from 29 March 1890 to 30 November 1890, and the acting consul from 14 October 1891 to 27 November 1892, again from 19 April 1895 to 22 May 1895, and yet again from 12 June 1897 to 15 September 1897. Stationed in Oman, he then began to take an interest in animal life, and for nearly thirty years studied and identified many species, including a species of

tahr Tahrs ( , ) or tehrs ( ) are large artiodactyl ungulates related to goats and sheep. There are three species, all native to Asia. Previously thought to be closely related to each other and placed in a single genus, ''Hemitragus'', genetic stud ...

which now bears his name, ''

Arabitragus jayakari The Arabian tahr (''Arabitragus jayakari'') is a species of tahr native to eastern Arabia. Until recently, it was placed in the genus ''Hemitragus'', but genetics, genetic evidence supports its removal to a separate monotypic genus, ''Arabitragus ...

'', as well as twenty-two new species of fish (including the eponymous '' Hippocampus jayakari''), two species of snakes (including the eponymous ''

Eryx jayakari ''Eryx jayakari'', known commonly as the Arabian sand boa or Jayakar's sand boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran where it spends the day buried in the sand. Etymology Both t ...

''), as well as lizards (including the eponymous ''

Omanosaura jayakari ''Omanosaura jayakari'', the Jayakar lizard or Jayakar's Oman lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Oman and the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْ� ...

'') and invertebrates (including the eponymous ''

Hottentotta jayakari ''Hottentotta jayakari'', the black-tailed alligatorback scorpion, is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It is geographically widespread, occupying much of the Arabian peninsula and Iran. Taxonomy Much like its relatives, the scorp ...

''). He also made contributions to linguistics, contributing a two-part grammatical sketch and lexicon of

Omani Arabic Omani Arabic (also known as Omani Hadari Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman and in a few neighboring coastal regions. It is the easternmost Arabic dialect. It was formerly spoken by colonists in Kenya and Tanz ...

, "The O'mánee Dialect of Arabic", to the '' Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' in 1889, and a grammatical sketch of

Shihhi Arabic Shihhi Arabic (also known as Shehhi, Shihu, Shihuh, or Al-Shihuh) (Arabic: اللهجة الشحية Al-Lahjah Al-Shihhiyya) is a variety of Arabic spoken in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and Ras al Khaimah emirate of UAE.Raymond G. Gordon Jr. ...

, "The Shahee dialect of Arabic", to ''The Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' in 1904, as well as a collection titled ''Omani Proverbs'' in 1900 (published posthumously as a book in 1987). He also contributed to Indian government publications with medical reports such as a "Medical Topography of Muscat" in 1877, and a "Report on the Recent Epidemic of Cholera in Maskat and Matrah" in 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayakar, Atmaram Sadashiv 19th-century Indian medical doctors 19th-century Indian zoologists 1844 births 1911 deaths Indian naturalists Indian Medical Service officers Marathi people British colonial governors and administrators in Asia