Johann Ludwig Christian Carl Gravenhorst (14 November 1777 – 14 January 1857), sometimes Jean Louis Charles or Carl, 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 ...

, herpetologist, and zoologist.

Life

Gravenhorst was born in Braunschweig. His early interest in insects was encouraged by two of his professors, both amateur entomologists. He entered the University of Helmstedt to study law in 1797. However, the death of his father two years later left him a great fortune; so he was able to change his direction. He enrolled at the University of Göttingen where he followed the courses of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. He returned to present his thesis to Helmstädt on a subject of entomology. He went to Paris in 1802 and there met

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

, Pierre André Latreille, and

Alexandre Brongniart Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil content ...

. Parallel to his studies, he assembled, thanks to his financial means, a very important natural history collection. In 1805, he obtained a professorial chair in Göttingen and published the following year ''Monographie Coleopterorum''. Among his work, Gravenhorst's studies of the parasitic wasps is especially important, but he also worked in herpetology. He settled in

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

in 1810, teaching natural history at the university of the city. The following year, the university was transferred to Breslau. There he became director of the Breslau Natural History Museum and installed his own collections there. He started to suffer from mental disorders after 1825, stopping all scientific work in the year 1840, and withdrawing completely into himself in 1856. He died in Breslau.

Achievements

Gravenhorst was a specialist in

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

and Ichneumonidae describing many new species. He was also one of the first frog specialists. Two species of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s are named in his honor: ''

Liolaemus gravenhorstii ''Liolaemus gravenhorstii'', commonly known as Gravenhorst's tree iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to South America. Etymology The specific name, ''gravenhorstii'', is in honor of German herpetologi ...

'' and ''

Trachylepis gravenhorstii ''Trachylepis gravenhorstii'', also known commonly as Gravenhorst's mabuya, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. Etymology The specific name, ''gravenhorstii'', is in honor of Germa ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Gravenhorst", p. 106).

Species described by Gravenhorst

*''

Ambystoma opacum The marbled salamander (''Ambystoma opacum'') is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern United States. Description The marbled salamander is a stocky and boldly banded salamander. The marbled salamander exhibits sexual dimorphism w ...

'', the marbled salamander of the eastern United States *''Rana cancrivora'', now '' Fejervarya cancrivora'', the crab-eating frog of Malaysia and Thailandbr>
*'' Leiocephalus schreibersii'', the red-sided curly-tailed lizard of the West Indies *'' Xenochrophis melanzostus'', the

Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands * Andaman Sea * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), a Kannada-language film * ''Andaman'' (2016 film), a Tamil-language film * ''Andaman'' (2021 film), a Hindi-language film See also * Andaman and Nicobar Islands ...

keelback snake

Works

*''Monographia Coleopterorum Micropterorum''. Göttingen: Henricus Dieterich, xvi+248 pp, tabula. (1802) Click for PD

*''Coleoptera Microptera Brunsvicensia nec non exoticorum quotquot exstant in collectionibus entomologorum Brunsvicensium in genera familias et species distribuit''. Braunschweig: Carolus Reichard, lxvi+207 pp. Gravenhorst, J.L.C (1806) Click for PD

*''Ichneumologia Europaea''. Vratislaviae, sumtibus auctoris. 3 volumes (including supplement). pp. xxxi, 827, (4); 989; 1097, with 2 engraved plates and 2 folded tables.(1829) – Contents I: Generalia, Ichneumones, Supplementa, Indices – II: Tryphones, Trogos, Alomyas, Cryptos – III: Pimplas, Metopios, Bassos, Banchos, Ophiones, Hellwigias, Acaenitas, Xoridas, Supplementa
BHL
digitised text of all 3 volumes.

Collections

Museum of Natural History at University of Wrocław A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

Armenology Research National Center

References

*Townes, H. K. 1965. Labeling in the Gravenhorst collection of Ichneumonidae (Hymen.) ''Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne'' 35: 403–407. Source Kraig Adler (1989). Contributions to the History of Herpetology, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

External links

Works by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst
at the

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database – version 1.0 – Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gravenhorst, Johann Ludwig Christian 1777 births 1857 deaths German entomologists Scientists from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick University of Göttingen alumni University of Helmstedt alumni European University Viadrina faculty University of Breslau faculty