Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer (17 December 1799 – 14 April 1874) was a German
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
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. He was born, and died, in
Regensburg. Herrich-Schäffer studied and collected particularly butterflies and moths (
Lepidoptera). He was chairman of the Regensburg Botanical Society () from 1861 to 1871, and was awarded an honorary citizenship of Regensburg in 1871.
He wrote ''Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmetterlinge von Europa'' between 1843 and 1856, one of the most influential works on the higher classification of Lepidoptera of the 19th century. Many of the lepidopteran higher taxa recognized today were defined in this work for the first time. He based his classification mostly on wing venation.
Parts of his collection went to
Otto Staudinger at the
Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and M. J. Bastelberg at the
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (german: Zoologische Staatssammlung München) or ZSM is a major German research institution for zoological systematics in Munich. It has over 20 million zoological specimens. It is one of the largest na ...
. Many
Microlepidoptera in his collection were given to
Ottmar Hofmann (1835–1900) at the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...
in London.
The author citation used for Herrich-Schäffer is Herr.-Schaeff. in
botany
Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...
or Herrich-Schäffer in
zoology
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 kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
.
Bibliography
* ''Die wanzenartigen Insekten. Getreu nach der Natur abgebildet und beschrieben''. (Fortsetzung des Hahn’schen Werkes). (Volume 4, 1839 - Volume 9 & Alphabetisches synonymisches Verzeichniss, 1853) F? band. C.H. Zeh, Nbg. 108 pp. 1839.
* ''Die Wanzenartigen Insekten. Getreu nach der Natur abgebildet und beschrieben''. Achter band. J.L. Lotzbeck, Nbg. 130 pp. 1848.
* ''Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmetterlinge von Europa, Zugleich als Text, Revision und Supplement zu Jacob Hubner’s Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge''. (6 Volumes, 1843-1856) Vierter Band. Zünsler u. Wickler. Manz, Regensburg. 288 + 48 pp. 1849 See under
Jacob Hubner
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
Commons for scans from this work.
* Die Schmetterlinge der Insel Cuba. ''Corr Bl Zool Min Ver Regensb'' 22: 147-156.1868.
* ''Nomenclator entomologicus. Verzeichniss der europäischen Insecten, zur Erleichterung des Tauschverkehrs mit Preisen versehen''.
Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1835-1840
* ''Index alphabetico-synonymicus insectorum hemiptera heteropterorum. Alphabetisch-synonymisches Verzeichniss der wanzenartigen Insecten''. G. J. Manz, Regensburg 1853
''Sammlung neuer oder wenig bekannter aussereuropäischer Schmetterlinge''. G. J. Manz, Regensburg 1850-1858* ''Neue Schmetterlinge aus Europa und den angrenzenden Ländern''. G. J. Manz, Regensburg 1860
* Neuer Schmetterlinge aus dem
Museum Godeffroy
The Museum Godeffroy was a museum in Hamburg, Germany, which existed from 1861 to 1885.
The collection was founded by Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy, who became a wealthy shipping magnate a few years after the expansion of the trade towards Aust ...
in Hamburg. Erste Abtheilung: die Tagfalter.'' Stett. ent. Ztg''. 30(1-3): 65-80, pls. 1-4 1869.
References
* Parts of this article are based on an English translation o
ADB:Herrich-Schäffer, Gottlieb August@
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie.
German lepidopterists
1799 births
1874 deaths
German taxonomists
People from Regensburg
19th-century German zoologists
{{entomologist-stub