''Der Naturforscher'' ( "The Naturalist") was a German scientific publication of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

devoted to natural history. It was published yearly from 1774 to 1804, by J. J. Gebauers Witwe and Joh. Jac. Gebauer at

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

and edited first by Johann Ernst Immanuel Walch (from 1774 to 1778) and later by

Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (17 January 1739 in Weißensee, Thuringia – 10 December 1810 in Erlangen), often styled J.C.D. von Schreber, was a German Natural history, naturalist. Career He was appointed professor of'' materia medica'' ...

(from 1779 to 1802). Both editors were also contributors. Most of the articles concern aspects of invertebrate zoology, mostly

entomology 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 conchology. A few concern

ornithology 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 other subjects, including

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

. It is usually bound in fifteen volumes

octavo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

. Indices and registers are given at ten year intervals enumerating 640 memoirs. Just over 150 plates accompany the text. Many of the illustrations are by Johann Stephan Capieux and are of a very high standard. Armin Geus provides comprehensive indices.

Contributors

Most authors contributing to ''Der Naturforscher'' were German, but the journal also included some French authors. No natural history journal published in France existed at the time. Amongst others, some notable naturalists contributing to ''Der Naturforscher'' were: *

Johann August Ephraim Goeze Johann August Ephraim Goeze (; 28 May 1731 – 27 June 1793) was a German zoologist, born in Aschersleben. He is known for the discovery of tardigrades, also called water bears. He was the son of Johann Heinrich and Catherine Margarete (née ...

Theodor Gottlieb von Scheven Theodosius (also Theodor or Theodorus) Gottlieb von Scheven (born 3 January 1751 on Usedom - died 23 March 1810 from typhus) was a pastor and German entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Early life Von Scheven was born on 3 ...

Josef Aloys Frölich Josef Aloys Frölich or Alois von Frölich (10 March 1766, Marktoberdorf – 11 March 1841) was a German Physician, doctor, botanist and entomologist. He is not to be confused with Franz Anton Gottfried Frölich (1805–1878), his son, also an ...

* Nikolaus Joseph Brahm *

Eugen Johann Christoph Esper Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper (2 June 1742 – 27 July 1810) was a German zoologist and naturalist. Born in Wunsiedel in Bavaria, he was professor of zoology at Erlangen university. Life and work Eugen and his brother Friedrich were in ...

* Johann Kaspar Füssli * Johann Friedrich Gmelin * Siegmund Adrian von Rottemburg *

Jean Baptiste Louis d'Audibert de Férussac Baron Jean Baptiste Louis d'Audibert de Férussac (or d'Audebard, or d'Audebert) (1745–1815) was a French naturalist and geologist. Jean Baptiste Audibert de Férussac was born in Clerac, the son of Joseph d'Audebard de Férussac (1676–1753), ...

Johann Matthäus Bechstein Johann Matthäus Bechstein (11 July 1757 – 23 February 1822) was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist, entomologist, and herpetologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds (''Naturgeschichte der Stubenvögel ...

Friedrich Christian Meuschen Friedrich Christian Meuschen (15 September 1719 – 20 February 1811) was a German diplomat and conchologist born in Hanau. He was the son of theologian Johann Gerhard Meuschen (1680–1743). Meuschen was a diplomatic representative in The Hague, ...

Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer (31 May 1755 – 28 June 1829) was a German botanist and entomologist. He was born at Etzelwang in the Upper Palatinate and died at Hersbruck, near Nuremberg. He was the son of (the elder, 1729-1805), one of the ...

Johann Hermann Johann, or Jean-Frederic, Hermann, or Herrmann, (31 December 1738 in Barr, Alsace – 4 October 1800 in Strasbourg) was a French physician and naturalist. In 1769 he was appointed professor of medicine at the School of Public Health of Strasbo ...

* Franz von Paula Schrank *

Johann Dominikus Schultze Johann Dominikus Schultze (June 16, 1751 in Gröden - May 22, 1790 in Hamburg) was a German doctor and natural scientist. Works *Schulze, I. D. 1775. Beyträge zur Kenntniß seltener Insekten. Erstes Stück. - ''Der Naturforscher'' 6: 87–98, ...

* Johann Beckmann * Justus Christian Loder *

Charles De Geer Baron Charles de Geer (the family is usually known as De Geer with a capitalized "De" and is pronounced "de yer"); Finspång in Risinge 30 January 1720 – Stockholm 7 March 1778) was a Swedish industrialist and entomologist. Life De Geer, ...

Johann Christoph Meineken Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(1722 -1790) Mineralogy * Christoph Gottlieb von Murr as C. G. von M

Impact

Claus Nissen described ''Der Naturforscher'' as "the most important 18th century German periodical for the descriptive natural sciences". Its taxonomic significance is considerable in entomology and conchology. Although many of the new species described here were subsequently considered junior synonyms, others remain valid. Some of the valid species first described in ''Der Naturforscher'' are several well-known European Lepidoptera: '' Lysandra bellargus'' (Rottemburg, 1775), ''

Polyommatus icarus The common blue butterfly or European common blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively c ...

'' (Rottemburg, 1775), ''

Zygaena lonicerae ''Zygaena lonicerae'', the narrow-bordered five-spot burnet, is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. The species was first described by Theodor Gottlieb von Scheven in 1777. Subspecies *''Zygaena lonicerae lonicerae'' *''Zygaena lonicerae abbast ...

'' (Scheven, 1777), ''

Paranthrene tabaniformis ''Paranthrene tabaniformis'', the dusky clearwing, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm, Palearctic and Nearctic realms. The wingspan is 30 mm. The length of the forewings is c. 14 mm. Meyrick descr ...

'' (Rottemburg, 1775) and '' Hyles gallii'' (Rottemburg, 1775). Valid taxa in phylum Mollusca include '' Turbo canaliculatus'' Hermann, 1781, ''

Spondylus americanus ''Spondylus americanus'', the Atlantic thorny oyster, is a species of bivalve mollusc. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina to Brazil. Description The Atlantic thorny oyster can grow up to in di ...

'' Hermann, 1781, ''

Modiolarca impacta ''Modiolarca impacta'' is a species of saltwater clam, a mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Ar ...

'' (Hermann, 1782) and ''

Semilimax semilimax ''Semilimax semilimax'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Vitrinidae. Distribution This species occurs in: * Czech Republic * Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna ...

'' (J. Férussac, 1802). Although most ornithology articles are general or faunal lists,John Cassin, 1866 Fasti Ornithologiæ. No. 2 ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' Vol. 18 (1866), pp. 35-38 (4 pages) an exception exists in the first description of the wood warbler, ''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'' (Bechstein, 1793). Some exotic taxa were also first described in ''Der Naturforscher'', including the fish species ''

Sternoptyx diaphana ''Sternoptyx diaphana'', the diaphanous hatchetfish, is a species of deep sea ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae. It is the type species of the genus ''Sternoptyx'', and was first described by the French naturalist Johann Hermann in ...

'' Hermann, 1781 and the Indomalayan butterfly '' Euploea phaenareta'' (Schaller, 1785).

References

External links

Universitat Bielefeld Digital library
Digitised Der Naturforscher
Animal base
66 articles
jstor

Johann Capieux at University of Halle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naturforscher, Der Defunct journals German-language journals Natural history journals

Contributors

Impact

See also

References

External links