Wilhelm Karl Hartwich (or Hartwig) Peters (22 April 1815 in

Koldenbüttel Koldenbüttel ( North Frisian: ''Koolnbütel'', nds, Kombüddel, da, Koldenbøl, Koldenbyttel) is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Geography und infrastructure Koldenbüttel lies in the Eider T ...

– 20 April 1883) was a German naturalist and explorer. He was assistant to the anatomist

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

and later became curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum. Encouraged by Müller and the explorer

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...

, Peters travelled to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

via

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

in September 1842, exploring the coastal region and the

Zambesi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

. He returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens, which he then described in ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique... in den Jahren 1842 bis 1848 ausgeführt'' (1852–1882). The work was comprehensive in its coverage, dealing with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, river fish, insects and botany. He replaced Martin Lichtenstein as curator of the museum in 1858, and in the same year he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. In a few years, he greatly increased the Berlin Museum's

herpetological Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

collection to a size comparable to those of Paris and London. Herpetology was Peters' main interest, and he described 122 new

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and 649

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

from around the world.

Eponyms

Wilhelm Peters is commemorated in the scientific names of several species: Reptiles, including *'' Andinosaura petrorum'', *'' Anolis petersii'', *'' Geophis petersii'', *'' Hebius petersii'', *'' Morenia petersi'', and *'' Tracheloptychus petersi''. Fish *An African freshwater elephantfish, ''Gnathonemus petersii'', known commonly as Peters's elephantnose fish. *The African Fish '' Distichodus petersii''

Pfeffer Pfeffer is a German surname meaning " pepper" and may refer to: * Anna Pfeffer (born 1946), Hungarian Olympic medalist sprint canoer * Anshel Pfeffer, British journalist * Anton Pfeffer (born 1965), Austrian footballer * Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882� ...

, 1896 Geographic * Peters Bay in NE

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

was named after him by

Carl Koldewey Carl Christian Koldewey (26 October 1837 – 17 May 1908) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expeditions. Life and career Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldewey ...

during the 1869–1870 Second German North Polar Expedition.

Author abbreviation

Sometimes, W. Peters is used to prevent confusion with herpetologists Günther Peters and James A. Peters.

Family

His older brother was the German-born American Astronomer Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters.Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche, Kirchenkreis Nordfriesland, Koldenbüttel, Taufen 1779-1873

Works

* ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 1: Zoologie / Säugethiere'' . Reimer, Berlin 185
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 2: Zoologie / Vögel'' . Reimer, Berlin [1883
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 3: Zoologie / Amphibien'' . Reimer, Berlin 188
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 4: Zoologie / Flußfische'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Band 5: Zoologie / Insecten und Myriopoden'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Botanik Abth. 1'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique. Botanik Abth. 2'' . Reimer, Berlin 186
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Wilhelm 1815 births 1883 deaths 19th-century German zoologists German herpetologists German mammalogists German taxonomists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences People from Nordfriesland

Eponyms

Author abbreviation

Family

Works

See also

References