Knud Christian Andersen (29 April 1867 in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

– last seen alive June 1918 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a Danish zoologist. His research focused on

bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

Life and work

Towards the end of the 19th century, Andersen first worked as an ornithologist and ran field studies on the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. In 1901 Ferdinand I awarded him an appointment at the Zoological Museum of Sofia. Due to his frustration with the working conditions, he gave up this position.Jon Fjeldså: ''Danske ornitologer langt fra hjemmet: fra P.W. Lund til international fuglebeskyttelse'' In: ''100-års festskrift'' Dansk Orn. Foren. Tidsskr. 100 (2006):S. 265-275 In 1904, he was hired by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

to research

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, in

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He was especially interested in the genus

Flying Fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

and

Horseshoe bats A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toe ...

, of which he described 15 new species. He published 13 scientific papers on the South-East Asian

. His most famous work was his ''Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the Collection of the British Museum,'' which is considered one of the most extensive works on flying foxes. Andersen was elected fellow 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 ...

(ZSL) in 1909. In June 1918 he mysteriously disappeared; his body has never been found. His colleague

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

submitted his final manuscript on his behalf and stated that Andersen expected "to be absent from his scientific work for some time."

Dedicated taxa

''Rhinolophus anderseni'' (1909 by

Ángel Cabrera Ángel Cabrera (; born 12 September 1969) is an Argentine professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is known affectionately as ''"El Pato"'' in Spanish ''("The Duck")'' for his waddling gait. He is a two-time ...

; no longer a valid taxon, the subspecies ''anderseni'' and ''aequalis'' are today considered

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of the species '' Rhinolophus arcuatus'' and '' Rhinolophus acuminatus''). ''

Dobsonia anderseni Andersen's naked-backed fruit bat or Andersen's bare-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia anderseni'') is a large cave-dwelling species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago including the Admiralty Islands in Pa ...

'' (1914 by

), '' Artibeus anderseni'' (1916 by

Wilfred Hudson Osgood Wilfred Hudson Osgood (December 8, 1875 – June 20, 1947) was an American zoologist. Biography Osgood was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, the oldest child of a family of watchmakers. The family moved to California in 1888 and he went to study ...

Selected publications

*''Meddelelser om faeroernes Fugle med saerligt Hensyn til Nolsø, efter skriftlige Oplysninger'' (with P.F. Petersen), 1894 *''Diomedea melanophrys, boende paa Færøerne'', 1894 (English: ''Diomedea melanophrys in the Faröe Islands'', 1895) *''Sysselmand H.C. Müller’s haandskrevne optegnelser om Færøoerne Fugle'' (with Hans Christopher Müller), 1901 * * *''On the determination of age in bats'', 1917

Species described by Knud Andersen

** ''

Acerodon humilis The Talaud flying fox or Talaud fruit bat (''Acerodon humilis'') is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the islands of Salebabu and Karekaleng in the Talaud Archipelago of Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical ...

'' K. Andersen 1909 ** ''

Dobsonia praedatrix The New Britain naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia praedatrix'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to New Britain island in northern Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Ni ...

'' K. Andersen 1909 ** ''

Dobsonia inermis ''Dobsonia'' is a genus of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It contains the following 13 species:Nowak, Ronald M. Walker's Bats of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP. 1991. Genus ''Dobsonia'' * Andersen's naked-backed fruit bat, ''Dobson ...

'' K. Andersen 1909 ** ''

Dobsonia exoleta The Sulawesi naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia exoleta'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between ...

'' K. Andersen 1909 ** ''

Eonycteris major The greater nectar bat or greater dawn bat (''Eonycteris major'') is a species of megabat within the genus '' Eonycteris''. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its range is limited and includes Luzon to Maripipi in th ...

'' K. Andersen 1910 ** ''

Pteropus cognatus The Makira flying fox (''Pteropus cognatus'') is a species of megabat in the genus ''Pteropus'', found in the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, t ...

'' K. Andersen 1908 ** ''

Pteropus intermedius Andersen's flying fox (''Pteropus intermedius'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae found in south Burma and west Thailand. Although it is hunted for both food and as a pest, it is not known if this has a significant impact on ...

'' K. Andersen 1908 ** ''

Pteropus lylei Lyle's flying fox (''Pteropus lylei'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, with an outlying population in Yunnan, China. It faces persecution from farmers and it is killed for bu ...

'' K. Andersen 1908 ** ''

Pteropus speciosus The Philippine gray flying fox (''Pteropus speciosus'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Phi ...

'' K. Andersen 1908 ** ''

Pteropus pelewensis The Pelew flying fox (''Pteropus pelewensis'') is a species of megabat in the genus ''Pteropus'' found in the Palau Islands. A subspecies found on Yap, the Yap flying fox, is considered as a separate species by some authorities.D.E. Wilson & D.M. ...

'' K. Andersen 1908 ** '' Pteropus pilosus'' K. Andersen 1908 ** '' Pteropus yapensis'' K. Andersen 1908 ** ''

Rousettus celebensis The Sulawesi rousette or Sulawesi fruit bat (''Pilonycteris celebensis'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae endemic to Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Sout ...

'' K. Andersen 1907 ** '' Macroglossus sobrinus'' K. Andersen 1911 ** '' Nyctimene minutus'' K. Andersen 1910 ** '' Nyctimene cyclotis'' K. Andersen 1910 ** ''

Nyctimene certans The mountain tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene certans'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to New Guinea island and to New Britain Island New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarc ...

'' K. Andersen 1912 ** '' Pteralopex anceps'' K. Andersen 1909 ** '' Rhinolophus nereis'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus monoceros'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus madurensis'' K. Andersen 1918 ** '' Rhinolophus simulator'' K. Andersen 1904 ** '' Rhinolophus virgo'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus thomasi'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus subrufus'' K. Andersen 1905 ** ''

Rhinolophus sinicus The Chinese rufous horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus sinicus'') is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Vietnam. The species is most easily confused with '' R. affinis'', from which it is be ...

'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus robinsoni'' K. Andersen 1918 ** '' Rhinolophus shortridgei'' K. Andersen 1918 ** ''

Rhinolophus sedulus The lesser woolly horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus sedulus'') is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constituti ...

'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus stheno'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus inops'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus celebensis'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus cognatus'' K. Andersen 1906 ** '' Rhinolophus eloquens'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Rhinolophus darlingi'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Hipposideros nequam'' K. Andersen 1918 ** '' Hipposideros pomona'' K. Andersen 1918 ** '' Hipposideros beatus'' K. Andersen 1906 ** '' Hipposideros dinops'' K. Andersen 1905 ** '' Artibeus aztecus'' K. Andersen 1906 ** ''

Artibeus hirsutus The hairy fruit-eating bat (''Artibeus hirsutus'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is endemic to Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states ...

'' K. Andersen 1906 ** '' Nycteris aurita'' (K. Andersen 1912) ** '' Nycteris gambiensis'' (K. Andersen 1912) ** '' Nycteris major" (K. Andersen 1912) ** '' Nycteris nana'' (K. Andersen 1912) ** '' Nycteris tragata'' (K. Andersen 1912) ** ''

Nycteris woodi Wood's slit-faced bat (''Nycteris woodi'') is a species of slit-faced bat that lives in the dry savanna regions of Southern Africa. Its numbers are declining due to habitat loss from logging and farming, pesticide use, and the decline of baobab t ...

'' K. Andersen 1914 ** '' Mormopterus doriae'' K. Andersen 1907 ** '' Dobsonia crenulata'' K. Andersen 1909

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Knud Christian 1867 births 1910s missing person cases 1918 deaths Danish zoologists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Missing person cases in England People from Frederiksberg Year of death unknown

Life and work

Dedicated taxa

See also

Selected publications

Species described by Knud Andersen

References