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 ance ...
physician,
zoologist 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 w ...
.
Born to a
Danish Jewish 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.
Cantor was the first Western scientist to describe the
Siamese fighting fish.
In the scientific field of
herpetology he described many new species of
reptiles 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),Hippocampus comes
The tiger tail seahorse (''Hippocampus comes'') is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. The species was first described by Theodore Cantor in 1850. It is found in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet ...
'' (1850),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 else ...
'' (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),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),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 South ...
'' (Cantor's giant softshell turtle), and '' Trimeresurus cantori'' (Cantor's pit viper).
See also
* :Taxa named by Theodore Edward Cantor
References
1809 births
1860 deaths
19th-century Danish zoologists
Jewish Danish scientists
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