Carlos Berg ( lv, Kārlis Bergs, german: Karl Berg) or Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Berg ( lv, Frīdrihs Vilhelms Kārlis Bergs, german: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Berg) (21 March 1843,
Courland – 19 January 1902
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
) was an Argentinian
naturalist and
entomologist of
Latvian and
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
origin.
Having worked a few years in trade, he moved to
Riga in 1865 and became curator of the entomological department of the
Riga Museum, and then at the
Riga Technical University
Riga Technical University (RTU) ( lv, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte) is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as 'Riga Polytechnical Ins ...
.
In 1873, he was invited by
Hermann Burmeister
Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the Uni ...
(1807–1892), director of the
Museum of Buenos Aires, to join him in Argentina. As early as 1874, Berg began an expedition to
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
to collect specimens for the museum. This first collecting trip was followed by others through Argentina, also in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.
Apart from a period of two years from 1890 to 1892, spent at the
Museo Nacional in Montevideo, he was based in Buenos Aires. He replaced Burmeister as the head of the museum in 1892.
His first specialty was entomology, but he was also dedicated to
paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and the study of
vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
. Amongst his many other achievements, he described ''
Cactoblastis cactorum'', the cactus moth.
Berg was a fellow of the
Entomological Society of London
The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists.
The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of Londo ...
and a corresponding member of the
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park.
History
On 29 ...
.
Works
*1875 Lepidópteros patagónicos. Observados en el viage de 1874 ''Acta Acad. Nac. Cordova'', 1 (4): 63-102, (7): 155-158 Suplemento a la descripción de los lepidópteros patagónicos
*1875 Patagonische Lepidopteren beobachtet auf einer Reise im Jahre 1874 ''Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou'' 49 (4) : 191-247
*1879: ''
Hemiptera argentina enumeravit speciesque novas descripsit Carolus Berg'' Bonariae,ex typographiae P.E. Coni
*1877 Contribución al estudio de la fauna entomológica de Patagonia ''An. Soc. Cient. Argent.'' 4 (2): 87-102, : 199-211
*1877 Beiträge zu den Lepidoptoren Patagoniens ''Bull. Soc. imp. Nat. Moscou'' 52 (3) : 1-22
*1877 Estudios Lepidopterológicus acerce de la fauna Argentina y oriental ''An. Soc. cient. Argent.'' 3 : 228-242, pl.
*1877 Descriptions de deux nouveaux Lépidoptères de la famille des Arctiadae ''Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr.'' (5) 7 : 189-194
*1880 :Observaciones acerca de la Familia
Hyponomeutidae. ''Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina''. 1880;10:99–109.
*1885: Lepidoptera Nova, Faunae reipublicae Argentinae et Uruguayensis ''An. Soc. cient. argent.'' 19 : 266-285
*1889 : Substitucion de nombres genericos. III. Comm. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, 1 : 77-80.
*1896 : Batraccios Argentinos.
*1898 : Contribuciones... Fauna Erpetologica Argentina.
See also
*
:Taxa named by Carlos Berg
References
Sources
* Anonym 1902
erg, F. W. K.''
Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' (3), London 38:114
* Gallardo, A. 1897
erg, F. W. K.''An. Soc. Cient. Argent., Buenos Aires'' 43 : 274-279, Portrait
* Osborn, H. 1937 ''Fragments of Entomological History Including Some Personal Recollections of Men and Events'' Columbus, Ohio, Published by the Author 1 : 1-394, 47
* Groll, E. K. (Hrsg.): Biografien der Entomologen der Welt : Datenbank. Version 4.15 : Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, 201
Berg, Friedrich Wilhelm Karl
External links
Works by Berg at BHL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Carlos
Entomologists from the Russian Empire
1902 deaths
1843 births
Baltic German people from the Russian Empire
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Argentina
People from Tukums
Academic staff of Riga Technical University