Jan Kalinowski (17 May 1857 – June 1941) was a Polish explorer and collector of biological specimens who worked in Asia and South America. He was among the first Europeans to explore the fauna of the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, collecting for the Branicki family of Poland from 1885 to 1888.

Life and work

Kalinowski was born in

Okuniew Okuniew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Halinów, within Mińsk County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Halinów, north-west of Mińsk Mazowiecki, and east of Warsaw ...

where his father was a forester. He began to work for

Władysław Taczanowski Władysław Taczanowski (; 17 March 1819, in Jabłonna, Lublin Voivodeship – 17 January 1890, in Warsaw) was a Polish zoologist and collector of natural history who explored the Russian Far East and northern Africa. He specialized mainly in orni ...

at the Zoological Museum in Warsaw. His first collecting expedition sponsored by Count Konstanty Branicki (1824-1884) was into Kamchatka with Benedict Dybowski. He stayed on from 1883 after Dybowski returned and explored Japan and Korea. He collected numerous insects and birds. The specimens he collected were examined and found to be new species by the Russian entomologist General Oktawiusz Radoszkowski. Kalinowski returned to Warsaw in 1888 and was tasked by Taczanowski to collect in Peru. Here he met and married Maria Villamonte settling in Peru. He initially stayed near Quillabamba, then Quincemil and later moved to Markapata 100 miles southeast of Cusco and set up a hacienda "La Cadena" and continued to collect specimens and sent them to museums in Europe and America. He was supported by wealthy European museum collectors including the brothers Konstanty Branicki (1824–1884) and Aleksander (1821–1877). After Konstanty's death his son Ksawery Branicki (1864-1926) continued to support collecting expeditions. Other supporters included

Hans von Berlepsch Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch (29 July 1850 – 27 February 1915) was a German ornithologist. Berlepsch studied zoology at the University of Halle. He used his inherited wealth to sponsor bird collectors in South America, including ...

. Kalinowski died in June 1941 in Peru leaving behind his wife and eighteen children, one of whom was the naturalist, collector, and taxidermist Celestino Kalinowski Villamonte (1924 - 1986) who worked for the conservation and establishment of

Manú National Park Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...

. A number of species described from his collections have been named after him including Kalinowski's mastiff bat (''Mormopterus kalinowskii'' ),

Kalinowski's Oldfield mouse Kalinowski's Oldfield mouse (''Thomasomys kalinowskii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Peru. References

*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal ...

(''Thomasomys kalinowskii'' ), Kalinowski's agouti (''Dasyprocta kalinowskii'' ), and Kalinowski's mouse opossum (''Hyladelphys kalinowskii'' ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalinowski, Jan 1857 births 1941 deaths Deaths in Peru People from Mińsk County Polish explorers Polish naturalists Explorers from the Russian Empire Naturalists from the Russian Empire Expatriates in Korea