Carl Eduard Adolph Gerstaecker (30 August 1828 – 20 June 1895) 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 ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and professor at the

University of Berlin 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 initiative o ...

and then the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

Biography

Gerstaecker was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he studied medicine and natural sciences, receiving his PhD in 1855 as a student of

Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug (5 May 1775, in Berlin – 3 February 1856, in Berlin), was a German entomologist. He described the butterflies and some other insects of Upper Egypt and Arabia in Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and Wilhelm Friedrich ...

. In 1856 he obtained his habilitation for zoology, and soon afterwards, became a curator at the Zoological Museum of Humboldt University. In 1864 he began work as a lecturer at the Landwirtschaftlichen Lehranstalt (Agricultural Educational Facility) in Berlin. In 1874 he became an associate professor for zoology at the University of Berlin, and in 1876, a professor of zoology at the

. He died in

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

Works

* ''Monographie der Endomychiden'' (1858) – Monograph on

Endomychidae Endomychidae, or handsome fungus beetles, is a family of beetles with representatives found in all biogeographic realms. There are around 120 genera and 1300 species. The family was established based on the type genus '' Endomychus'', a genus ere ...

. * ''Handbuch der Zoologie'' (with

Wilhelm Peters Wilhelm Karl Hartwich (or Hartwig) Peters (22 April 1815 in Koldenbüttel – 20 April 1883) was a German natural history, naturalist and explorer. He was assistant to the anatomist Johannes Peter Müller and later became curator of the Natural ...

und

Julius Victor Carus Julius Victor Carus (25 July 1823 – 10 March 1903) was a German zoologist, comparative anatomist and entomologist. Career Carus was born in Leipzig. He served as curator of the Museum of Comparative Anatomy at Oxford University from 1849 to ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

(1863-1875). * (Arthropoda) *

Arthropoda Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

, in ''Klassen und Ordnungen des Thierreichs'', (Section ''Arthropoda'', in classes and orders of the Animals) 1866–93. * ''Beitrag zur Insekten-Fauna von Zanzibar''. Parts 3. (1866) – Contribution to the insect-fauna of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

. * ''Das Skelet des Döglings Hyperoodon Rostratus (Pont.) Ein Beitrag zur Osteologie der Cetaceen und zur vergleichenden Morphologie der Wirbelsäule'', (1887) – The skeleton of the

northern bottlenose whale The northern bottlenose whale (''Hyperoodon ampullatus'') is a species of beaked whale in the ziphiid family, being one of two members of the genus ''Hyperoodon''. The northern bottlenose whale was hunted heavily by Norway and Britain in the 19t ...

. A contribution to the

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s and the

comparative morphology Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

of the

spinal column The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates ...

. * 'On The Geographical Distribution and Varieties of the Honey-Bee, with Remarks upon the Exotic Honeybees of the Old World, The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Zoology, Botany, and Geology (1863) vol.11, no.3, pp. 270-283.

References

External links

Adolph Gerstäcker
de.Wikisource (bibliography)
Zoological Institute of Greifswald University
German entomologists 1828 births 1895 deaths Scientists from Berlin University of Greifswald faculty 19th-century German zoologists {{Germany-scientist-stub