Jacques Vladimir von Bedriaga, sometimes Bedryagha (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Яков Владимирович Бедряга; 1854 - 1906) was a Russian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

who was a native of Kriniz, a village near

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

. In scientific papers Bedriaga would sometimes alter his name to agree with the language of the country in which he was publishing. As a result, the following variations are encountered: Jacob Vladimirovich Bedriaga, Johann von Bedriaga, and Jean de Bedriaga.

Biography

He studied sciences at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

under the direction of Anatoli Bogdanov (1834-1896), and afterwards moved to Germany, where he studied at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

with

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; ; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, natural history, naturalist, eugenics, eugenicist, Philosophy, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biology, marine biologist and artist ...

(1834-1919) and

Carl Gegenbaur Carl Gegenbaur (21 August 1826 – 14 June 1903)"Carl Gegenbaur – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.coBritannica-KarlG was a German anatomist and professor who demonstrated that the field of ...

(1826-1903). In 1875, he obtained his doctorate with a thesis on the

urogenital The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, are the sex organs of the reproductive system and the organ (biology), organs of the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, Development of the urinary a ...

organs of

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

. After graduation, Bedriaga continued his research on reptiles with Gegenbaur, and made frequent scientific trips to regions around the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In 1880 he published an important work on Greek herpetology called ''Die Amphibien und Reptilien Griechenlands''. Also, he made occasional visits back to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where he studied collections reported from expeditions to

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, including those of Nikolai Przewalski (1839-1888). In 1881 he moved to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he died in 1906.

Eponyms

Bedriaga has a handful of herpetological species named after him, including

Bedriaga's rock lizard Bedriaga's rock lizard (''Archaeolacerta bedriagae'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is monotypic within the genus ''Archaeolacerta''. It is only found on the islands Corsica and Sardinia. The scientific name ''Lacer ...

(''Archeolacerta bedriagae''), Bedriaga's fringe-fingered lizard (''Acanthodactylus bedriagai''), Bedriaga's skink (''

Chalcides bedriagai ''Chalcides bedriagai'', commonly known as Bedriaga's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. It usually lives in sandy areas with sparse vegetation and good ground cover. It can al ...

''), Bedriaga's wonder gecko (''

Teratoscincus bedriagai ''Teratoscincus bedriagai'', also known commonly as Bedraiga's wonder gecko or Bedriaga's plate-tailed gecko, is a small species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is native to Central and Western Asia. Etymology The specif ...

''), and the Levant water frog (''Pelophylax bedriagae'').

Gallery

File:Hyla arborea var. molleri (Hello folks).jpg, ''

Hyla arborea The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but based on molecular genetic and other data several populations formerly included in it ...

'' var. molleri Bedriaga, 1890

Selected publications

*''Ueber die Entstehung der Farben bei den Eidechsen'' (About the emergence of color in

lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

), 1874. *''Die Amphibien und Reptilien Griechenlands'' (The

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

and reptiles of Greece), 1880. *''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Amphibien und Reptilien der Fauna von Corsika'' (Contributions to the knowledge of the amphibians and reptiles of the fauna of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

), 1883. *''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Lacertiden-Familie. (

Lacerta Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a "W" ...

, Algiroides,

Tropidosaura ''Tropidosaura'' is a genus of wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. The genus is endemic to southern Africa. Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Sanibe ...

, Zerzumia und Bettaia)'' (Contributions to the knowledge of the family

Lacertidae The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found ...

), 1886.Edition Lacertidae
/ref> *''Wissenschaftliche Resultate der von N. M. Przewalski nach Central-Asien unternommenen Reisen'' (Scientific results of the N.M. Przewalski expedition undertaken in Central Asia), 1898.

References

External links

ssarherps.org
(biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedriaga, Jacques von Zoologists from the Russian Empire Herpetologists from the Russian Empire 1854 births 1906 deaths Biologists from the Russian Empire Russian scientists