
Gustav von Paykull (21 August 1757 – 28 January 1826) was a
Swedish''
friherre
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
'' (circa
baron) and
Marshal of the Court,
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 ...
.
He was a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy
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 ...
from 1791 and a founder of the natural history museum (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet) in
Stockholm, through his 1819 donation of his extensive
zoological collections to the academy (now in the
Swedish Museum of Natural History). He was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
in 1801 and a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...
in 1804.
Publications
His best-known publications are:
*''Monographia Histeroidum''. Upsaliae : Palmblad iv 114 pp. (1811).
*''Fauna Suecica''. Insecta, Coleoptera. Upsala : Edman 3 volumes. (3 volumes, 1798, 1799, 1800)
Species named in his honor
* The
red false black widow spider, ''Steatoda paykulliana''
* The
pantropical jumping spider, ''Plexippus paykulli''
* The
band-bellied crake
The band-bellied crake (''Zapornia paykullii'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae.
It breeds in Manchuria, eastern China and northern Korea ; it winters throughout Southeast Asia.
It is getting rare due to habitat loss.
In 1813 the Sw ...
, ''Porzana paykullii''
* ''Scolopax paykullii'',
probably the red breasted snipe,
or
short-billed dowitcher
The short-billed dowitcher (''Limnodromus griseus''), like its congener the long-billed dowitcher, is a medium-sized, stocky, long-billed shorebird in the family Scolopacidae.
It is an inhabitant of North America, Central America, the Carib ...
, now known as ''Scolopax grisea''
* '' Tortrix paykulliana''
– synonym of ''
Epinotia ramella''
* ''Alucita paykullella''
– synonym of ''
Micropterix paykullella''
* ''Amarygmus paykulii''
–
Tenenbrionine beetle
References
External links
Image of Paykull
1757 births
1826 deaths
Swedish nobility
Swedish entomologists
18th-century Swedish zoologists
19th-century Swedish zoologists
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
{{entomologist-stub