Johann Maria Hildebrandt (born 13 or 19 March 1847; died 29 May 1881) was a German explorer, collector, and scientist.

Biography

Hildebrandt´s Starling Lamprotornis hildebrandti

Hildebrandt was born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to a family of painters. Originally a machine maker, he lost an eye after an accident and became a gardener, eventually starting work in 1869 for the Berlin Botanical Garden. Between 1872 and 1881, Hildebrandt made a number of expeditions to the Horn of Africa and the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

, collecting a large number of botanical and zoological specimens. His expeditions were for the most part modest affairs, but he discovered a number of new species. He also lectured widely and wrote about many aspects of the places he visited. Hildebrandt died of a fever and stomach bleeding whilst on an expedition to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and was buried in the Norwegian Cemetery in Ambatovinaky. He gave his name to a number of species, including Hildebrandt's starling (''Lamprotornis hildebrandti'' ), the

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...

Encephalartos hildebrandtii ''Encephalartos hildebrandtii'' is a species of cycad in the Zamiaceae family. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania at elevations of 0 to 600 meters. Description These plants have an erect stem, without branches, about 6 meters high and 30 cm in d ...

'' and

Hildebrandt's spurfowl Hildebrandt's spurfowl (''Pternistis hildebrandti'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. The species is named for J ...

(''Pternistis hildebrandti'' ), all of which he discovered in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

in the

region. Hildebrandt is commemorated in the scientific names of three species of reptiles: ''

Hemirhagerrhis hildebrandtii ''Hemirhagerrhis'' is a genus of snakes in the family Psammophiidae. Geographic range The genus ''Hemirhagerrhis'' is endemic to Africa. Species The genus ''Hemirhagerrhis'' contains four species which are recognized as being valid.. www.repti ...

'', '' Paracontias hildebrandti'', and ''

Trachylepis hildebrandtii ''Trachylepis hildebrandtii'', also known commonly as Hildebrandt's mabuya and Hildebrandt’s skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is indigenous to the Horn of Africa. Etymology ''T. hidebrandtii'' is named after ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Hildebrandt", p. 123). One frog genus, '' Hildebrandtia'', bears his name.

References

External links

*Digitallibrary.usc.edu
J.M.Hildebrandt's grave, Ambatovinaky, Antananarivo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrandt, Johannes 1847 births 1881 deaths German explorers of Africa German gardeners Scientists from Düsseldorf