Władysław Taczanowski (; 17 March 1819, in

Jabłonna, Lublin Voivodeship Jabłonna is a village in Lublin County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Jabłonna. It lies approximately south of the regional capital Lublin. Notable residents *Wła ...

– 17 January 1890, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) was a Polish

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 collector of natural history who explored the Russian Far East and northern Africa. He specialized mainly in ornithology but also described numerous other taxa including reptiles and arachnids.

Life

A member of an old noble (''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

'')

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

family, Taczanowski, from the

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

region Władysław studied in Lublin and managed the family farm after the death of his father. He then joined government service and served on special missions of the governor of Radom. He joined the

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Museum in 1855 and began to travel and train at other museums. In 1865 he joined

Benedict Dybowski Benedykt Tadeusz Dybowski (12 May 183331 January 1930) was a Poland, Polish natural history, naturalist and physician. Life Benedykt Dybowski was born in Valozhyn District, Adamaryni, within the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire to Polish ...

and Victor Godlewski on expeditions to Eastern Russia. In 1862 he succeeded

Feliks Paweł Jarocki Feliks Paweł Jarocki (Pacanów, 14 January 1790 – 25 March 1865, Warsaw) was a Polish zoologist and entomologist. Life Jarocki was a Doctor of Liberal Arts and Philosophy. He organized and managed the Zoological Cabinet of the Royal Univers ...

as curator. Taczanowski took part in an expedition to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

with Antoni S. Waga (1866–67) and wrote several significant studies including ''Birds of Poland'' (1882) and ''Ornithology of Peru'' (1884-86). He received collections from Cayenne through Constantin Jelski, from the Upper Nile from Counts

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and Constantine Branicki. From 1875 he continued to receive specimens from South America after Jean Stolzmann replaced Jelski. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Krakow in 1887. Species named after him include

Taczanowski's tinamou Taczanowski's tinamou (''Nothoprocta taczanowskii'') is a type of ground bird found in the eastern Andes in Peru in the Junín, Cuzco, Apurímac, Ayacucho, and Puno Regions.Clements, J. (2007) Taxonomy This is a monotypic species. All Tinamou ...

(''Nothoprocta taczanowskii)'', the Junin flightless grebe (''Podiceps taczanowskii)'', the

mountain paca The mountain paca (''Cuniculus taczanowskii'') is a small burrow-dwelling rodent whose habitats are high altitude South American forests. Pacas are nocturnal, sedentary, and solitary animals with territorial tendencies. It eats mostly fruits and ...

(''Agouti taczanowskii)'',

Taczanowski's gudgeon ''Ladislavia taczanowskii'', the Taczanowski's gudgeon, is a species of cyprinid fish found in the Yalu and Amur drainages in Eastern Asia. It is the only member of its genus and was named after the Polish zoologist Władysław Taczanowski Wład ...

(''Ladislavia taczanowskii)'', and Taczanowski's dwarf boa (''

Tropidophis taczanowskyi ''Tropidophis taczanowskyi'', also known commonly as Taczanowski's dwarf boa, is a species of snake in the family Tropidophiidae. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, ...

)''.

Other works

*"''Les Aranéides de la Guyane française''," ''Horae Societatis entomologicae Rossicae'' (1871) *"''Les Aranéides de la Guyane française''," ''Horae Societatis entomologicae Rossicae'' (1873) *"''Les Aranéides du Pérou. Famille des Attidés''" (1879)
Ornithologie du Pérou
(1884)

Tribute

The fish ''

Ladislavia taczanowskii ''Ladislavia taczanowskii'', the Taczanowski's gudgeon, is a species of cyprinid fish found in the Yalu River, Yalu and Amur River, Amur drainages in Eastern Asia. It is the only member of its genus and was named after the Poles, Polish zoologist ...

'' Dybowski, 1869 was named for him.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taczanowski, Wladyslaw 1819 births 1890 deaths Scientists from Congress Poland Ornithologists Naturalists from the Russian Empire Wladyslaw