Wilhelm Karl Hartwich (or Hartwig) Peters (22 April 1815 in

Koldenbüttel Koldenbüttel ( North Frisian: ''Koolnbütel'', nds, Kombüddel, da, Koldenbøl, Koldenbyttel) is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Geography und infrastructure Koldenbüttel lies in the Eider Tre ...

– 20 April 1883) was a German naturalist and explorer. He was assistant to the anatomist

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, ichthyology, ichthyologist, and herpetology, herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability ...

and later became curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum. Encouraged by Müller and the explorer

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

, Peters travelled to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

via

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

in September 1842, exploring the coastal region and the

Zambesi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

. He returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens, which he then described in ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique... in den Jahren 1842 bis 1848 ausgeführt'' (1852–1882). The work was comprehensive in its coverage, dealing with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, river fish, insects and botany. He replaced

Martin Lichtenstein Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein (10 January 1780 – 2 September 1857) was a German physician, explorer, botanist and zoologist. Biography Born in Hamburg, Lichtenstein was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein. He studied medicine a ...

as curator of the museum in 1858, and in the same year he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. In a few years, he greatly increased the Berlin Museum's

herpetological 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 r ...

collection to a size comparable to those of Paris and London. Herpetology was Peters' main interest, and he described 122 new

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and 649

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from around the world.

Eponyms

Wilhelm Peters is commemorated in the

scientific names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of several species: Reptiles, including *'' Andinosaura petrorum'', *'' Anolis petersii'', *'' Geophis petersii'', *'' Hebius petersii'', *''

Morenia petersi The Indian eyed turtle (''Morenia petersi'') is a species of turtle in the Family (biology), family Geoemydidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to South Asia. Geographic range ''M. petersi'' is found in northeastern India (as far west as Biha ...

'', and *''

Tracheloptychus petersi ''Tracheloptychus petersi'', commonly known as Peters's keeled cordylid, is a species of lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae. The species is found in Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( ...

''. Fish *An African freshwater elephantfish, ''Gnathonemus petersii'', known commonly as

Peters's elephantnose fish Peters's elephant-nose fish (''Gnathonemus petersii'') is an African freshwater elephantfish in the genus '' Gnathonemus''. Other names in English include elephantnose fish, long-nosed elephant fish, and Ubangi mormyrid, after the Ubangi River. ...

. *The African Fish ''

Distichodus petersii ''Distichodus petersii'' is a species of fish in the family Distichodontidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat is river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake ...

'' Pfeffer, 1896 Geographic *

Peters Bay Peters Bay ( da, Peters Bugt) is a bay of the Greenland Sea in King Christian X Land, Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. History The bay was first surveyed by Carl Koldewey during the 1869–70 Second G ...

in NE

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

was named after him by

Carl Koldewey Carl Christian Koldewey (26 October 1837 – 17 May 1908) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expeditions. Life and career Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldewey ...

during the 1869–1870 Second

German North Polar Expedition The German North Polar Expeditions were a short series of mid-19th century German expeditions to the Arctic. The aim was to explore the North Pole region and to brand the newly united, Prussian-led German Empire as a great power. In 1866, German ge ...

Author abbreviation

Sometimes, W. Peters is used to prevent confusion with herpetologists Günther Peters and

James A. Peters James Arthur Peters (July 13, 1922 – December 18, 1972) was an American herpetologists and zoogeographer. He was born in Durant, Iowa; raised in Greenup, Illinois. He studied at the University of Michigan and obtained his Ph.D. in biology i ...

Family

His older brother was the German-born American Astronomer

Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters (September 19, 1813 – July 18, 1890) was a German–American university teacher and astronomer at the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, New York, and a pioneer in the study and visual discovery of ...

.Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche, Kirchenkreis Nordfriesland, Koldenbüttel, Taufen 1779-1873

Works

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 1: Zoologie / Säugethiere'' . Reimer, Berlin 185
Digital edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of th ...

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 2: Zoologie / Vögel'' . Reimer, Berlin [1883
Digital edition
by the

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 3: Zoologie / Amphibien'' . Reimer, Berlin 188
Digital edition
by the

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 4: Zoologie / Flußfische'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 5: Zoologie / Insecten und Myriopoden'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Botanik Abth. 1'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Botanik Abth. 2'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Wilhelm 1815 births 1883 deaths 19th-century German zoologists German herpetologists German mammalogists German taxonomists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences People from Nordfriesland

Eponyms

Author abbreviation

Family

Works

See also

References