Carl Hunstein (1843 – March 13, 1888) was a German
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
and plant collector.
Hunstein was born in
Homberg,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He emigrated to
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, then relocated to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. From 1885 until his death, he was employed by the
German New Guinea Company
The German New Guinea Company (german: Deutsche Neuguinea-Kompagnie) was a German Chartered Company which exploited insular territory in and near present Papua New Guinea.
History
In the 1870s and 1880s German commercial firms began to site tr ...
.
He was a successful discoverer of new species of
birds-of-paradise
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...
, such as the:
*
Brown sicklebill
The brown sicklebill (''Epimachus meyeri'') is a species of bird-of-paradise that is found in the mountain forests of New Guinea.
Its appearance resembles the closely related and larger black sicklebill. In areas where these two large sicklebills ...
(''Epimachus meyeri''
Finsch), named in honor of
Adolf Bernard Meyer
Adolf Bernhard Meyer (11 October 1840, Hamburg – 22 August 1911, Dresden) was a German anthropologist, ornithologist, entomologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He served for nearly thirty years as director of the Königlich Zoologisches und ...
.
*
Stephanie's astrapia
Stephanie's astrapia (''Astrapia stephaniae''), also known as Princess Stephanie's astrapia, is a species of bird-of-paradise of the family Paradisaeidae, native to the Bird's Tail Peninsula (Papua New Guinea). This species was first described b ...
(''Astrapia stephaniae''
Finsch & A.B. Meyer), named in honor of
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
Princess Stéphanie Clotilde Louise Herminie Marie Charlotte of Belgium (21 May 1864 – 23 August 1945) was a Belgian princess who became Crown Princess of Austria through marriage to Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hu ...
.
*
Blue bird-of-paradise
The blue bird-of-paradise (''Paradisornis rudolphi'') is a beautiful, relatively large species of bird-of-paradise. It is the only species in the genus ''Paradisornis'', but was previously included in the genus '' Paradisaea''.
It is often regard ...
(''Paradisaea rudolphi''
Finsch), named in honor of
Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria
en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph
, caption = Rudolf in 1887
, spouse =
, issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz
, house = Habsburg-Lorraine
, father = Franz Joseph I of Austria
, mother ...
.
*
Emperor bird-of-paradise
The emperor bird-of-paradise (''Paradisaea guilielmi''), also known as emperor of Germany's bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise.
The emperor bird-of-paradise is endemic to Papua New Guinea. It is distributed in hill forests of the ...
(''Paradisaea guilielmi''
Cabanis Cabanis is the surname of:
*George Cabanis (1815-1892), American politician
*Jean Cabanis (1816–1906), German ornithologist
*José Cabanis
José Cabanis (2 March 1922 – 6 October 2000) was a French novelist, essayist, historian and magistrate ...
).
Hunstein
died
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
when a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
, caused by a
submarine volcano
Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...
, hit the coast of
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
of the
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
.
He is commemorated in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
by the Hunstein Mountains and the Hunstein Forest, and in plants and animals including the
Hunstein's mannikin
Mottled mannikin or mottled munia (''Lonchura hunsteini'') is a species of estrildid finch breeding in New Ireland. This species is also introduced to Pohnpei. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 20,000 to 50,000 km2. It is ...
(''
Lonchura hunsteini
Mottled mannikin or mottled munia (''Lonchura hunsteini'') is a species of estrildid finch breeding in New Ireland. This species is also introduced to Pohnpei. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 20,000 to 50,000 km2. It is ...
''), ''
Cyathea hunsteiniana
''Alsophila brausei'', synonym ''Cyathea hunsteiniana'', is a species of tree fern endemic to eastern New Guinea, where it grows in rain forest at an altitude of 1300–2000 m. This species has a slender, erect trunk up to 1 m tall and about 3&n ...
'' and ''
Araucaria hunsteinii
''Araucaria hunsteinii'' (Klinki , Klinkii or "Klinky", native names Rassu and Pai) is a species of ''Araucaria'' native to the mountains of Papua New Guinea. It is threatened by habitat loss.
It is a very large evergreen tree (the tallest in ...
''.
See also
*
Ritter Island
Ritter Island is a small crescent-shaped volcanic island north-east of New Guinea, situated between Umboi Island and Sakar Island.
There are several recorded eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic stratovolcano prior to a spectacular lateral coll ...
References
1843 births
1888 deaths
German ornithologists
Deaths in volcanic eruptions
Deaths in tsunamis
German emigrants to the United States
German emigrants to New Zealand
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