Władysław Taczanowski (; 17 March 1819, in Jabłonna, Lublin Voivodeship – 17 January 1890, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was a Polish

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

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'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'')

magnate The term magnate, 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 Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

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 (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

Museum in 1855 and began to travel and train at other museums. In 1865 he joined Benedict Dybowski and Victor Godlewski on expeditions to Eastern Russia. In 1862 he succeeded Feliks Paweł Jarocki as curator. Taczanowski took part in an expedition to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

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 name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

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 (''Nothoprocta taczanowskii)'', the Junin flightless grebe (''Podiceps taczanowskii)'', the mountain paca (''Agouti taczanowskii)'', Taczanowski's gudgeon (''Ladislavia taczanowskii)'', and Taczanowski's dwarf boa ('' Tropidophis taczanowskyi)''.

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'' 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