Sergei Nikolaevich Alphéraky (1850–1918) (sometimes Alphéraki or Alferaki) was a Russian

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

who specialised in Lepidoptera. Sergei Alphéraky was born into the noble Greek family of Alferakis and was the brother of composer

Achilles Alferaki Achilles Nikolayevich Alferaki ("Achilles" sometimes spelled Akhilles or Ahilles) (July 3, 1846, Kharkov, Russian Empire – December 27, 1919, Saint Petersburg, Soviet Union) was a Russian composer and mayor of Greek descent. His brother ...

. His father Nikos Alferakis owned the

Alferaki Palace Alferaki Palace is a museum in Taganrog, Russia, originally the home of the wealthy merchant Nikolay Alferaki. It was built in 1848 by the architect Andrei Stackenschneider on ''Frunze Street'' (formerly ''Katolicheskaya''), in downtown Taganrog ...

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog ...

. Sergei studied at

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

(1867–1869), then with

Otto Staudinger Otto Staudinger (2 May 1830 – 13 October 1900) was a German entomologist and a natural history dealer considered one of the largest in the world specialising in the collection and sale of insects to museums, scientific institutions, and ind ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

(1871–1873). On his return to Russia he worked on the Lepidoptera of the

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...

region. He also collected in the North

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. After that he devoted himself to the insects, especially Lepidoptera, of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

. He worked on the Lepidoptera collected by

Nikolai Przhevalsky Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Prjevalsky;; pl, Nikołaj Przewalski, . – ) was a Russian geographer of Polish descent (he was born in a Polish noble family), and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia. Although he never reac ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

held by the

Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Science 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 kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and di ...

and those collected by

Grigorij Nikolaevich Potanin Grigory Nikolayevich Potanin (alt. Grigorij Potanin) (russian: Григорий Николаевич Потанин; 4 October 1835 – 6 June 1920) was a Russian ethnographer and natural historian. He was an explorer of Inner Asia, and was the ...

in China and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

in the same institution. Later he studied the collections made by

Alfred Otto Herz Alfred Otto Herz (14 October 1856 Hoyerswerda, Silesia – 12 July 1905) was a German entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. He was employed as a collector and preparator by the Otto Staudinger - Andreas Bang-Haas insect deal ...

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...

, and those of Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanoff (Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich), a friend from his two years at Moscow University. He was an honorary member of both the

Russian Entomological Society The Russian Entomological Society is a Russian scientific society devoted to entomology. The Society was founded in 1859 in St. Petersburg by Karl Ernst von Baer, Johann Friedrich von Brandt who was then the director of the Zoological Museum of ...

and the

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomology, entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Socie ...

of London.

Works

Partial list *1875–1878. Cheshuekrylyya (Lepidoptera) okrestnostei Taganroga (The Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of the environs of Taganrog) ''Trudy RusskagoEntomologicheskago obshchestva'', 8: 150–226 (1875); 10: 35–53 (1876); 11: 45–50 (1878) (in Russian). *1881–1883. Lépidoptères du district de Kouldjà et des montagnes environ-nantes. ''Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossica'', 16: 334–435, (1881); 17: 15–103 (1882), 156–227 (1883) (in French). *Lépidoptères rapportés du Thibet par le Général N.M. Przewalsky de son voyage de 1884-1885. ''Mémoires sur les Lépidoptères'', 5: 59-80 Edited by Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanoff. 1889 *1905. ''The Geese of Europe and Asia''. London, Rowland Ward. 1905. 24 plates by

Frederick William Frohawk Frederick William Frohawk (16 July 1861 – 10 December 1946) was an English zoological artist and lepidopterist. Frohawk was the author of ''Natural History of British Butterflies'' (1914), ''The Complete Book of British Butterflies'' (1934) ...

. Also a Russian version. *1908. Cheshuekryle Okrenestei Taganroga (The Butterflies of the environs of Taganrog). Supplément III. ''Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossica'', 38:558–618 (in French and Russian).

References

*Korolev, Vladimir A. & Murzin, Vladimir S. (January 30, 2008)
"Alphéraky, Sergei Nikolaevich (1850-1918)"
''Российская наука и мир''.

External links

Genera of moths described by Alphéraky
''Butterflies and Moths of the World''. Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
The geese of Europe and Asia (1905)
Russian lepidopterists 1850 births 1918 deaths Biologists from the Russian Empire Russian people of Greek descent Date of birth missing Date of death missing 19th-century scientists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian scientists Russian ornithologists 19th-century Greek scientists 20th-century Greek scientists {{entomologist-stub