Theodore Edward (Theodor Edvard) Cantor (1809–1860) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

physician,

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 ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , 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 "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. Born to a

Danish Jewish The history of the Jews in Denmark goes back to the 1600s. At present, the Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority of about 6,000 persons within Danish society. The community's population peaked prior to the Holocaust at whi ...

family, his mother was a sister of

Nathaniel Wallich Nathaniel Wolff Wallich FRS FRSE (28 January 1786 – 28 April 1854) was a surgeon and botanist of Danish origin who worked in India, initially in the Danish settlement near Calcutta and later for the Danish East India Company and the British ...

. Cantor worked for the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, and made natural history collections in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

and

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

. Cantor was the first Western scientist to describe the

Siamese fighting fish The Siamese fighting fish (''Betta splendens''), commonly known as the betta, is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is one of 73 species of the genus ''Bett ...

. In the scientific field of

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

he described many new species of

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

and

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

.The Reptile Database
/ref> Species first described by Cantor include '' Bungarus bungaroides'' (1839), ''

Bungarus lividus The lesser black krait (''Bungarus lividus'') is a species of venomous elapid snake found in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, स ...

'' (1839), ''

Channa argus The northern snakehead (''Channa argus'') is a species of snakehead fish native to China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea, ranging from the Amur River to Hainan. It has been introduced to other regions, where it is considered invasive. In ...

'' (1842), '' Elaphe rufodorsata'' (1842), ''

Euprepiophis mandarinus The Mandarin rat snake (''Euprepiophis mandarinus'') is a species of nonvenomous Colubridae, colubrid snake Endemism, endemic to Asia. It is closely related to ''Euprepiophis conspicillata'', the Japanese forest rat snake. Mandarin rat snakes are ...

'' (1842), '' Hippocampus comes'' (1850), '' Lycodon effraenis'' (1847), ''

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus The pond loach (''Misgurnus anguillicaudatus''), also known as the Dojo loach or oriental weatherfish, is a freshwater fish in the loach family Cobitidae. They are native to East Asia but are also popular as an aquarium fish and introduced els ...

'' (1842), ''

Naja atra The Chinese cobra (''Naja atra''), also called the Taiwan cobra, is a species of cobra in the family Elapidae, found mostly in southern China and a couple of neighboring nations and islands. It is one of the most prevalent venomous snakes in Ch ...

'' (1842), ''

Oligodon albocinctus ''Oligodon albocinctus'', also known as the light-barred kukri snake, is a species of colubrid snake. It is endemic to Asia. The species was first described by Theodore Cantor in 1839. Geographic range It is found in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh ...

'' (1839), '' Oligodon cyclurus'' (1839), '' Ophiophagus hannah'' (1836), '' Oreocryptophis porphyracea'' (1839), ''

Pareas monticola The common slug snake, Assam snail eater, Assam snail-eater snake, or montane slug-eating snake (''Pareas monticola'') is a species of snake found in Northeast India (Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Darjeeling, Arunachal Pradesh), eastern Nep ...

'' (1839), ''

Protobothrops mucrosquamatus ''Protobothrops mucrosquamatus'' is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Asia. Common names include: brown-spotted pit viper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition ...

'' (1839), ''

Ptyas dhumnades ''Ptyas'' is a genus of colubrid snakes. This genus is one of several colubrid genera colloquially called "rat snakes" or "ratsnakes". The generic name derives from Ancient Greek πτυάς, meaning " spitter", which referred to a kind of s ...

'' (1842), and ''

Trimeresurus erythrurus ''Trimeresurus erythrurus'', commonly known as the red-tailed bamboo pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . redtail bamboo pit viper, and redtail p ...

'' (1839). The snake genus ''Cantoria'' with the type species '' Cantoria violacea'' (Cantor's water snake) is named in Cantor's honour, as are '' Acanthodactylus cantoris'' (Indian fringe-fingered lizard), ''

Elaphe cantoris The eastern trinket snake (''Elaphe cantoris'') is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Etymology The specific name, ''cantoris'', is in honor of Danish zoologist Theodore Edward Cantor. Beolens, Bo ...

'' (eastern trinket snake), '' Hydrophis cantoris'' (Cantor's small-headed sea snake), ''

Pelochelys cantorii The Asian giant softshell turtle (''Pelochelys cantorii''), also known commonly as Cantor's giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to Sout ...

'' (Cantor's giant softshell turtle), and '' Trimeresurus cantori'' (Cantor's pit viper). He was the author of: * ''Notes respecting some Indian fishes'' (1839) * * * * * * *

References

1809 births 1860 deaths 19th-century Danish zoologists Jewish Danish scientists {{Denmark-scientist-stub

See also

References