Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger (19 November 1775 – 10 May 1813) was a German

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and

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 ...

. He founded the entomological periodical ''Magazin für Insektenkunde.'' The plant genus '' Illigera'' is named in his honour.

Biography

Illiger was the son of a merchant in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological collections of

Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg Johann Centurius Hoffmann Graf von Hoffmannsegg (23 August 1766 – 13 December 1849) was a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist. Hoffmannsegg was born at Rammenau and studied at Leipzig and Göttingen. He travelled through Europe a ...

. He was educated at the University of Helmstedt and at Gottingen. He was unable to pursue medical studies due to tuberculosis. Illiger was invited to Berlin by

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

and he became professor and director of the "zoological museum" (which is the Natural History Museum of Berlin in the present day) from its formation in 1810 until his death three years later from tuberculosis. He was the author of ''Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium'' (1811), which was an overhaul of the Linnaean system. It was a major influence on the adoption of the concept of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. He also edited the ''Magazin für Insektenkunde'', widely known as "Illiger's Magazine". This journal would lead him to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Kiel in 1806. In 1811 he introduced the taxonomic order

Proboscidea Proboscidea (; , ) is a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. Three l ...

for

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s, the American mastodon and the

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived from the Middle Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African ...

. He also described the subspecies '' Odobenus rosmarus divergens'', commonly known as the Pacific walrus. He created the order

Sirenia The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The extant Sirenia comprise two distinct famili ...

based on his opinion that the manatee appeared like a mermaid. Illiger's macaw (''Primolius maracana''; Vieillot, 1816) and Illiger's saddle-back tamarin (''Leontocebus illigeri'' ( Pucheran, 1845)) commemorate his name. The botanical genus ''Illigera'' (family Hernandiaceae) also bears his name.Medicinal Plants of China, Korea, and Japan
by Christophe Wiart

Published works

* Beschreibung einiger neuer Käfer, in: ''Schneider's entomologisches Magazin'' (1794) – Description of a new beetle. *Nachricht von einer in etlichten Gersten- und Haferfeldern um Braunschweig wahrscheinlich durch Insecten verursachten Verheerung, in: ''Brauschweigisches Magazin'' 50 (1795) – News about barley and oat fields near Braunschweig likely devastated by insects. *''Verzeichniß der Käfer Preußens''; outlined by Johann Gottlieb Kugelann (1798) – Directory of beetles found in Prussia. *Die Wurmtrocknis des Harzes, in: ''Braunschweigisches Magazin'' 49-50 (1798) –

Bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although th ...

s found in resin. *Die Erdmandel, in: ''Braunschweigisches Magazin'' 2 (1799) – The nutsedge. *''Versuch einer systematischen vollständigen Terminologie für das Thierreich und Pflanzenreich'' (1800) – About a systematic complete terminology for the animal and plant kingdoms. *Zusätze und Berichte zu Fabricius Systema Eleutheratorum. ''Magazin fur Insektenkunde'' 1. viii + 492 pp. (1802) – Additions and comments on Fabricius' "Systema Eleutheratorus". *Über die südamerikanischen Gürtelthiere, in: ''Wiedemann's Archiv für die Zoologie'' (1804) – About the South American

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

. *''Die wilden Pferde in Amerika'', in: Braunschweigisches Magazin 7/(1805) – Wild horses in America. *Nachricht von dem Hornvieh in Paraguay in Südamerika, in: ''Braunschweigisches Magazin'' 15-16 (1805) – On horned cattle of

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. *Nachlese zu den Bemerkungen, Berichtigungen und Zusätzen zu Fabricii Systema Eleutheratorum; ''Mag. fur Insektenkunde''. 6:296-317 (1807) – Information regarding the comments, corrections and additions to Fabricius' "Systema Eleutheratorum". *Vorschlag zur Aufnahme im Fabricischen Systeme fehlender Käfergattungen. ''Magazin für Insektenkunde'' 6:318-350 (1807). *''Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium'' (1811). *Überblick der Säugthiere nach ihrer Vertheilung über die Welttheile. ''Abh. K. Akad. Wiss. Berlin'', 1804-1811: 39-159 (1815) – Overview of quadrupeds according to their distribution throughout the world.

References

External links

* *
Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database – version 1.0 – Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
��Bibliography. {{DEFAULTSORT:Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm 18th-century German zoologists German entomologists 1775 births 1813 deaths German ornithologists German mammalogists Scientists from Braunschweig Scientists from the Duchy of Brunswick 19th-century German zoologists