Paul Matschie
Paul Matschie (11 August 1861,
Brandenburg an der Havel
Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417.
With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...
– 7 March 1926,
Friedenau
Friedenau () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Berlin, Germany. Relatively small by area, its population density is the highest in the city.
Geography
Friedenau is part of the southwestern s ...
) was a German
zoologist
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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
.
He studied
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
at the Universities of
Halle and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, afterwards working as an unpaid volunteer at the
Berlin Zoological Museum under
Jean Cabanis
Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist.
Cabanis was born in Berlin to an old Huguenot family who had moved from France. Little is known of his early life. He studied at the University of Berlin from 1 ...
(1816–1906). In 1892 he was in charge of the department of
mammals
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
at the museum, later becoming a
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
(1895), and in 1902 attaining the title of professor. In 1924 he was appointed second director at the museum.
During the years 1891–93, he described 11
new species of
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s. A species of
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
, ''
Hemidactylus matschiei''
( Tornier, 1901), is named in his honor. Matschie organized the fifth International Congress of Zoologists in Berlin and was for some years co-editor of the journal ''Natur und Haus''.
Matschie's tree-kangaroo
Matschie's tree-kangaroo (''Dendrolagus matschiei''), also known as the Huon tree-kangaroo is a tree-kangaroo native to the Huon Peninsula of northeastern New Guinea island, within the nation of Papua New Guinea. Under the IUCN classification, ...
(''Dendrolagus matschiei'') and
Matschie's galago (''Galago matschiei'') are two species of
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s which bear his name.
Selected writings
In German, except as noted:
*''Die Säugthiere Deutsch-Ost-Afrikas'', 1895.
*''Säugethiere'', 1898.
*''Die
Megachiroptera des Berliner Museums für Naturkunde'', 1899.
*''Die Fledermäuse des Berliner Museums für Naturkunde, etc.'', 1899.
*''Die Säugetiere der von W. Kükenthal auf
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Ha ...
,
Batjan
The Bacan Islands, formerly also known as the Bachans, Bachians, and Batchians, are a group of islands in the Moluccas in Indonesia. They are mountainous and forested, lying south of Ternate and southwest of Halmahera. The islands are administ ...
und
Nord-Celebes gemachten Ausbeute'' by Paul Matschie and
W G Kükenthal, 1900.
*''Le sanglier noir de l'
Ituri
Ituri is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri wa ...
'' "
Hylochoerus
The giant forest hog (''Hylochoerus meinertzhageni''), the only member of its genus (''Hylochoerus''), is native to wooded habitats in Africa and is generally considered the largest wild member of the pig family, Suidae; however, a few subspeci ...
ituriensis", 1906. (in French).
*''Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces'' by Paul Matschie, et al. 1909.
World Cat Identities
(publications)
Sources
The eponym dictionary of mammals by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson
(biographical information)
References
20th-century German zoologists
German mammalogists
01
1861 births
1926 deaths
German taxonomists
Scientists active at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
People from Brandenburg an der Havel
19th-century German zoologists
{{Germany-zoologist-stub