Albert Günther
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Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile taxonomist (after
George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...
) with more than 340 reptile species described.


Early life and career

Günther was born in Esslingen in Swabia ( Württemberg). His father was a ''Stiftungs-Commissar'' in Esslingen and his mother was Eleonora Nagel. He initially schooled at the Stuttgart Gymnasium. His family wished him to train for the ministry of the Lutheran Church for which he moved to the University of Tübingen. A brother shifted from theology to medicine, and he, too, turned to science and medicine at Tübingen in 1852. His first work was "''Ueber den Puppenzustand eines Distoma''" (On the pupal state of ''Distoma''). He graduated in medicine with an M.D. from Tübingen in 1858, the same year in which he published a handbook of zoology for students of medicine. His mother moved to England, and when he visited the country in 1855, he met John Edward Gray and Professor Richard Owen at the British Museum. This led to an offer to work at the British Museum in 1857, where his first task was to classify 2000 snake specimens. After the death of John Edward Gray in 1875, Günther was appointed Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum, a position he held until 1895. The major work of his life was the eight-volume ''Catalogue of Fishes'' (1859–1870, Ray Society). He also worked on the reptiles and amphibians in the museum collection. In 1864, he founded the '' Record of Zoological Literature'' and served as editor for six years. He was one of the editors for the ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' for more than thirty years. His landmark paper on
tuatara The tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards, it is actually the only extant member of a distinct lineage, the previously highly diverse order Rhynchocephal ...
anatomy was the first to establish that the tuatara reptile was not a lizard, but in fact the only living member of an entirely new group of reptiles, which he named Rhynchocephalia. Fossil and genetic evidence have subsequently confirmed Günther's assertion, and the tuatara is now recognised as the only living member of a once diverse lineage that shared a common ancestor with Squamata (lizards and snakes) over 240 million years ago.


Royal Society

Günther was elected
fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1867 and served as vice-president 1875–6. He served on the council of the Zoological Society for nearly 40 years (1868–1905). He was elected a fellow of the Linnaean Society in 1877 and was president 1896–1900. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1874. Günther died at Kew Gardens on 1 February 1914.


Family

Günther was the son of Friedrich Gotthilf Günther (1800–1835) and Eleonora/Eleonore Louise née Nagel (1806–1899). He married, firstly, in 1868, Roberta Mitchell née McIntosh (1842–1869), sister of William M'Intosh. They had one son, the historian Robert William Theodore Günther (1869–1940). Roberta died shortly after his birth. In 1879 he married again, to Theodora Dowrish née Drake (1863–1944). They had a son Frederic Albert Günther (1883–1953), a merchant; and a daughter Theodora Alberta Günther (1889–1908) who died aged nineteen.


Legacy

Albert Günther is commemorated in the scientific names of many species of reptiles. *'' Aparallactus guentheri'' – an African venomous snake *'' Aspidura guentheri'' – a
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
n snake *'' Atractus guentheri'' – a
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian snake *'' Chalcides guentheri'' – a Near Eastern lizard *'' Christinus guentheri'' – an
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n lizard *'' Coluber gracilis''– an
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n snake, known as Günther's racer *'' Draco guentheri'' – a Philippine lizard *'' Elapsoidea guentherii'' – an African venomous snake *'' Erythrolamprus albertguentheri'' – a South American snake *'' Erythrolamprus guentheri'' – a South American snake *'' Euspondylus guentheri'' – a South American lizard *'' Holaspis guentheri'' – an African lizard *'' Lycodryas guentheri'' – a Malagasy snake *'' Monopeltis guentheri'' – an African amphisbaenian *'' Perochirus guentheri'' – a South Pacific lizard *'' Phelsuma guentheri'' – a Mauritian lizard *'' Plectrurus guentheri'' – an Indian snake *'' Proctoporus guentheri'' – a South American lizard *'' Ramphotyphlops guentheri'' – an Australian snake *'' Riopa guentheri'' – an Indian lizard *'' Ristella guentheri'' – an Indian lizard *'' Scelotes guentheri'' – an extinct
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n lizard *'' Sphenodon guntheri'' – a New Zealand rhynchocephalian *'' Stegonotus guentheri'' – a
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
n snake *'' Stenocercus guentheri'' – a South American lizard *'' Trachischium guentheri'' – an
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n snake *'' Uroplatus guentheri'' – a Malagasy lizard *'' Urotheca guentheri'' – a Central American snake *'' Xenodon guentheri'' – a Brazilian snake As well as fish: *The carnivorous species of catfish '' Astroblepus guentheri'' ( Boulenger, 1887)


Selected publications

*Günther, Albert (1858). ''Handbuch der Medicinischen Zoologie''. *Günther, Albert (1858). ''Catalogue of the Batrachia salientia in the collection of the British Museum''. London. *Günther, Albert (1858). "On the Geographical Distribution of Reptiles". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1858: 373–389. *Günther, Albert (1859–1870). ''Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum'', eight volumes. *Günther, Albert (1863). "On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series'' 11: 20–25. *Günther, Albert (1863). "Third account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum". ''Sep. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'', 1–17. *Günther, Albert (1864). "Report on a collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa regions". ''Sep. Proc. Zool. Soc. London'', 1–12. *Günther, Albert (1864). "Descriptions of new species of Batrachians from West Africa". ''Sep. Proc. Zool. Soc. London'', 1–4. (''Folha manuscrita por Bocage no interior com descrição de ''Cystignathus Bocagei'' de Bolama''). *Günther, Albert (1865). "Fourth account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum". ''Sep. Annals Mag. Nat. Hist''., 1–10. * *Günther, Albert (1867). "Descriptions of some new or little-known species of Fishes in the collection of the British Museum". ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'', 24 Jan.: 99–104, 1 estampa. * *Günther, Albert (1868). Sixth account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. ''Sep. Annals Mag. Nat. Hist''., 1–17. *Günther, Albert (1868). First account of species of Tailless Batrachians added to the collection of the British Museum. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' (III), 25 June: 478–490. 4 pranchas. *Günther, Albert (1868). Report on a collection of Fishes made at St. Helena by J.C. Meliss. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' (II): 225–228.1 estampa. *Günther, Albert (1868). Descriptions of freshwater Fishes made from Surinam and Brazil. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' (II): 229–246. 3 estampas. *Günther, Albert (1870). ''Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum''. London
8 vols., online text, hathitrust.org
*Günther, Albert (1872). Seventh account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. ''Annals Mag. Nat. Hist''., 13–37. *Günther, Albert (1874). Description of a new European species of ''Zootoca''. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', August. *Günther, Albert (1874). Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known species of Reptiles from the Camaroon Mountains. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', 16 June: 444–445. Plate 56 – ''Chamaeleon montium'' Buckholz, 1874. B – juvenil. Pl. 57: ''Rhampholeon spectrum'' Buckholz e ''Bothrolycus ater'' sp. nov. . Del. G.H. Ford.. *Günther, Albert (1875). Second report on collection of Indian Reptiles obtained by the British Museum. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', 16 March : 224–234. Plates XXX-XXXIV. Col. Tenente Beddome no Sul da Índia e Dr. Jerdon no Norte e nos Himalaias. Plate 30 – ''Calotes grandisquamis'' Günther, 1875 – col. Bedomme no sopé do Canoot Ghat; Pl. XXXIV – ''Trimeresurus jerdoni'' sp. nov. – Jerdon, Khassya. G.H. Ford del. *Günther, Albert (1875). Third report on collections of Indian Reptiles obtained by the British Museum. From the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'': 567–577. 4 estampas. *Günther, Albert (1876). Statement regarding dr. Welwitsch's Angola Reptiles. ''Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa'', V (20): 275–276. Welwitsch. Seguem declarações de J.V. Barboza du Bocage. *Günther, Albert (1876). Notes on a small collection brought by Lieut. L. Cameron, from Angola. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', pág. 678. Herpetologia. ''Ahaetulla dorsalis'' (Bocage). Reptilia. Serpentes. *Günther, A. (1876). Remarks on Fishes, with Descriptions of new Species in the British Museum, chiefly from the Southern Seas. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Volume XVII, Fourth Series. *Günther, A. (1876). Remarks on some Indian and, more especially, Bornean Mammals. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, III: 424–428. Plate XXXVII – ''Viverra megaspila'' Blyth, 1863. J.G. Keulemans del. *Günther, A. (1876). Carta para Bocage, do Zoological Department (British Museum), 26 de Junho, a falar de Welwitsch. ''Arquivo histórico do Museu Bocage'', CE/G-88. * *Günther, A. (1877). The gigantic land tortoises (living and extinct) in the collection of the British Museum. *Günther, Albert (1878). – On Reptiles from Midian collected by Major Burton. From the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'': 977–978. 1 estampa. *Günther, A. (1879). The extinct reptiles of Rodriguez. ''Sep. Philosoph. Trans. Roy. Soc'', 168 (extra-vol.), London: 470–472. *Günther, Albert (1879). List of the Mammals, Reptiles, and Batrachians sent by Mr. Everett from the Philippine Islands. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society, London'', 14 January: 74–79. Plate IV – ''Dendrophis philippinensis'' Günther, 1879 – Norte de Mindanao. Del. R. Mintern. *Günther, Albert (1880). An Introduction to the Study of Fishes. *Günther, Albert (1882). Observations on some rare Reptiles and a Batrachian now or lately living in the Society's Menagerie. ''Transactions of the Zoological Society, London'' VI, part VII (1) : 215–222, pl. 42–46. ''Chelys fimbriata'' (Schneid.) – a Matamata habita as águas estagnada do Brasil e Guiana. Pl. 43–44: ''Metopoceros cornutus'' (Wagler). A imagem representa o segundo exemplar chegado aos museus da Europa, o primeiro pertencia ao Museu de Paris e tinha vindo de San Domingo. Deste não se conhece a proveniência exacta. ''Ceratothrys ornata'' (Bell). ''Tejus rufescens'' – Mendoza. *Günther, A. (1884). Contributions to our Knowledge of ''Hydromedusa'', a genus of South-American freshwater Turtles. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', Fifth Series, Volume XIV: 421–425. Plate XIV. *Günther, A. (1884). Note on some East-African Antelopes supposed to be new. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', Fifth Series, Volume XIV: 425–429. *Günther, Albert (1885). – Note on a supposed melanotic variety of the Leopard, from South Africa. From the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', 3 March: 243–245, estampa de ''Felis leopardus''. *Günther, A. (1888). Contribution to the knowledge of Snakes of Tropical Africa. ''Annals Mag. Nat. Hist''., (6) 1: 322–335. ''Ahoetulla bocagei'', sp. nov.. Angola. *Günther, A. (1888). Report on a collection of Reptiles and Batrachians sent by Emin Pasha from Monbuttu, Upper Congo. ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'', 50–51. *Günther, A. (1895). Notice of Reptiles and Batrachians collected in the Eastern Half of Tropical Africa. ''Annals Mag. Nat. Hist''., (6) 15: 523–529.


See also

* Robert Günther, Albert Günther's son and a historian of science * Taxa named by Albert Günther


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Günther, Albert C. L. G. 1830 births 1914 deaths English zoologists English taxonomists British herpetologists British ichthyologists British taxonomists British curators German ichthyologists German taxonomists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Royal Medal winners Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences People from Esslingen am Neckar People from the Kingdom of Württemberg 19th-century German zoologists 19th-century British zoologists 20th-century British zoologists Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala