HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix (9 February 1781 – 13 March 1826) was a German
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...
. From his expedition to Brazil, he brought to Germany a large variety of specimens of plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. They constitute an important basis for today's National Zoological Collection in Munich. Numerous examples of his ethnographic collections, such as dance masks and the like, are now part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography in Munich.


Biography

Spix was born in Höchstadt, in present-day
Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...
, as the seventh of eleven children. His childhood home is the site of the Spix Museum, open to the public since 2004. He studied philosophy in
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
and graduated with a doctoral degree. Later he studied
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
in Würzburg. After attending lectures of the young professor F. W. J. Schelling, Spix became interested in nature. He quit his theology studies and began studying medicine, which he finished with a second doctoral degree in 1807. After a short time working as a physician in Bamberg, he was appointed by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria as student ("''Eleve''") of zoology in Munich at the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...
in Munich in 1808. He received a scholarship to go to Paris to learn scientific zoology with
Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...
and others. From there he also made a first excursion to the sea coast of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in Northern France. Later he travelled to Southern France and Italy, collecting animals for the zoological collection of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and investigating marine animals. In 1810 Spix came back to Munich where he sorted the zoological collection and wrote his first publication on starfish and other marine animals. After this first fundamental publication, a book about the history of zoological classification, published in 1811, he was appointed member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Spix was also appointed the first conservator, now inline with the title director, of the Bavarian zoological collection, considered as the foundation of the
Zoologische Staatssammlung München The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (german: Zoologische Staatssammlung München) or ZSM is a major German research institution for zoological systematics in Munich. It has over 20 million zoological specimens. It is one of the largest natur ...
. He published several further works, the most important being a comparative morphology of the skulls of many different animals, including men,
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
s,
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...
s,
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s, and others. This book, the ''Cephalogenesis'', published in 1815, was written in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and illustrated with beautiful lithographs.


Expedition to Brazil

In 1817, Spix and
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD ...
travelled to
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
with a group of Austrian naturalists who accompanied Maria Leopoldina of Austria. First they went to Rio de Janeiro, but they soon left the Austrian group and travelled on their own through Brazil. Spix and Martius travelled from southern Rio de Janeiro to northern São Paulo. During this part of their journey, they were accompanied by the Austrian painter
Thomas Ender Thomas Ender (3 November 1793, Vienna - 28 September 1875, Vienna) was an Austrian landscape painter and watercolorist. Life and work He was born to Johann Ender, a junk dealer, and was the twin brother of Johann Nepomuk Ender, a history pain ...
. Then they continued to Ouro Preto and Diamantina, in the province of Minas Gerais, where they described the mining of diamonds. From there, they went further into the continent and then back to the coast of Salvador. They crossed the dry
Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...
in northeast Brazil, suffering from different severe diseases, and almost dying several times of thirst. During the whole journey, they collected and described animals and plants, but also everything else of scientific interest. They also described indigenous people and their habits, as well as anything of possible economic importance. They additionally investigated the giant Bendegó meteorite. They discovered fossil fishes of the Santana Formation. The last part of the expedition was the journey up to the
Amazon river The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...
, then in the Captaincy of Grão-Pará. There Spix and Martius went on separate routes to explore the region. Spix went to
Tabatinga Tabatinga, originally Forte de São Francisco Xavier de Tabatinga, is a municipality in the Três Fronteiras area of Western Amazonas. It is in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 67,182 (2020) and its area is 3,225 km2. T ...
, to the border of Peru, and from Manaus up the
Negro River Río Negro (Spanish and Portuguese, 'Black River') may refer to: Rivers Brazil * Rio Negro (Amazon), tributary of the Amazon River * Rio Negro (Mato Grosso do Sul) * Rio Negro (Paraná) * Rio Negro (Rio de Janeiro) * Rio Negro (Rondônia) * ...
. Martius travelled by boat to the Yupurá River, and from there he brought to Munich two Brazilian indigenous children from two different tribes, the Juri and the Miranha. The children where baptized Johannes and Isabella. Spix and Martius returned in 1820 to Munich with specimens of thousands of plants, animals, and ethnological objects. The zoological specimens formed the basis of the collection of the Natural History Museum in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
, the ethnological objects of Spix and Martius are the basis of the Museum für Völkerkunde München (now: Museum Fünf Kontinente).


Publications

Spix was honoured and knighted by the king of Bavaria. He worked hard on his zoological materials and prepared a description of the journey together with Martius. This description was printed in three volumes in 1823, 1828 and 1831, translated into English (first volume only) and Portuguese, which are still of great importance. Spix died during the preparation of the second volume, but Martius finished its publication using the notes of Spix and himself. Spix described and named many birds, primates, bats, and reptiles. Altogether he described some 500 to 600 species and subspecies. Furthermore, several species are named after him. Among Spix's most renowned discoveries is the species Spix's macaw, named after the explorer by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave. He died on 13 May 1826 in Munich, possibly from a tropical disease such as
yaws Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones, and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium ''Treponema pallidum pertenue''. The disease begins with a round, hard swelling of the skin, in diameter. The center may break open and form an ulc ...
or Chagas disease.


Legacy

Spix is commemorated in the scientific names of three species of South American reptiles: '' Acanthochelys spixii'', a turtle; '' Chironius spixii'', a snake; and '' Micrurus spixii'', a venomous coral snake.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Spix", p. 250). The Madamango sea catfish, ''Cathorops spixii'', was named in his honor in 1829. ''
Asolene spixii ''Asolene spixii'' is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The specific name ''spixii'' is in honour of German biologist Johann Baptist von Spix. Distribution Brazil, ...
'' is named for Spix. Th
University of Bamberg
Germany, has established an annual international visiting professorship that carries Spix' name.


Works

* 1811: ''Geschichte und Beurtheilung aller Systeme in der Zoologie nach ihrer Entwicklungsfolge von Aristoteles bis auf die gegenwärtige Zeit''. Schrag'sche Buchhandlung I-XIV; 710pp. * 1815: ''Cephalogenesis sive Capitis Ossei Structura, Formatio et Significatio per omnes Animalium Classes, Familias, Genera ac Aetates digesta, atque Tabulis illustrata, Legesque simul Psychologiae, Cranioscopiae ac Physiognomiae inde derivatae''.-Typis Francisci Seraphici Hübschmanni, Monachii: 11 and 72pp; 9 Taf. * 1823: ''Simiarum et Vespertilionum Brasiliensium species novae ou Histoire Naturelle des espècies nouvelles de singes et de chauves - souris observées et recueillies pendant le voyage dans l'interieur du Brésil exécuté par ordre de S M Le Roi de Bavière dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820''. Typis Francisci Seraphi Hybschmanni, Monachii: I - VIII, 1-72, 28 tables. * 1824a: ''Animalia nova sive species novae Testudinum et Ranarum, quas in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII - MDCCCXX Iussu et Auspiciis Maximiliani Josephi I. Bavariae Regis suscepto collegit et descripsit''. Typis Franc. Seraph. Hübschmanni, Monachii: 1-29, 22 tables - 1981 Soc. for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles with an introduction by P. E. Vanzolini * 1824b: ''Avium species novae, quas in itinere per Brasiliam Annis MDCCCXVII - MDCCCXX Iussu et Auspiciis Maximiliani Josephi I. Bavariae Regis suscepto collegit et descripsit''. Typis Franc. Seraph. Hübschmanni, Monachii: Tom. I, 1-90, 91 tabes; Tom. II, 1-85, 109 Taf. * Spix & Wagler 1824: ''Serpentum Brasiliensium Species novae ou Histoire Naturelle des especes nouvelles de Serpens, Recueillies et observées pendent le voyage dans l'interieur du Brésil dans les Années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820 ... publiée par Jean de Spix, ... écrite dàprès les notes du Voyageur par Jean Wagler''. Typis Franc. Seraph. Hübschmanni, Monachii: 1-75, 26 Taf. - reprinted 1981 Soc. for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford; with an introduction by P. E. Vanzolini * Spix & Martius 1823–1831: ''Reise in Brasilien auf Befehl Sr. Majestät Maximilian Joseph I. König von Baiern in den Jahren 1817–1820 gemacht und beschrieben''. 3 Volumes and one Atlas - Verlag M. Lindauer, München. 1388pp. (Bd. II und III edited by C.F.Ph. v. Martius) - reprint, 1967, F. A. Brockhaus Komm. Ges. Abt. Antiquarium, Stuttgart - also English (1st vol.) and Portuguese translations available.


See also

* :Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix


References


Sources

* Adler, Kraig (1989); Spix, J. B. von (1781 – 1826) in: ''Contributions to the History of Herpetology'' - Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, page 23. * Fittkau, E. J. (1995); ''Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix. Rundgespräche d. Kommission f. Ökologie, Tropenforschung - Bayer. Akad. d. Wissenschaften.'' 10: 29–38. * * Schönitzer, Klaus; ''Ein Leben für die Zoologie – Die Reisen und Forschungen des Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix'', Allitera Verlag, edition monacensia, München 2011, 224 S. . * Vanzolini, Paulo Emilio (1981) The scientific and political contents of the Bavarian expedition to Brasil. In: ''Herpetology of Brasil''. Edited by: Soc. for the study of amphibians and reptiles, Oxford, pages IX –XXIX. The book is mainly a reprint of herpetological works from Spix, see also the introduction by K. Adler, pages v–vii.


Further reading

*"Johann Baptist von Spix," in Tom Taylor and Michael Taylor, ''Aves: A Survey of the Literature of Neotropical Ornithology'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Libraries, 2011.


External links

*
Digital Collection
Smithsonian Library *
Spix Museum in Höchstadt
On QYPE {{DEFAULTSORT:Spix, Johann Baptist von German explorers German naturalists German science writers 1781 births 1826 deaths German entomologists German ornithologists Botanists active in South America Explorers of Amazonia Historiography of Brazil Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences People of the Age of Enlightenment Plant collectors Zoological collectors University of Würzburg alumni People from Höchstadt German untitled nobility 19th-century Latin-language writers 19th-century explorers 19th-century German botanists 19th-century German zoologists