Dr. Joseph Waltl (28 July 1805 – 4 March 1888) was a German physician and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. Waltl was born in

Wasserburg am Bodensee Wasserburg am Bodensee is one of the three Bavarian municipalities on the shores of Lake Constance. It is a well known resort, sought out for the supposedly healthy nature of its atmosphere. Geography Parts of the municipality The community is m ...

and studied at

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, graduating in medicine in 1819. He then travelled in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, France and Spain. In 1833 he became a teacher in

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

, and in 1835 a professor of natural history at the university. His numerous writings were mainly concerned with

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s and other insects. Notably, the singular

Iberian ribbed newt The Iberian ribbed newt (''Pleurodeles waltl)'', also known Common name, commonly as the Spanish ribbed newt and ''el gallipato'' in Spanish, is a species of salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the Family (biology), family Salamandrida ...

was named ''Pleurodeles waltl'' in honor of the young Waltl by his colleague

Karl Michahelles Georg Christian Karl Wilhelm Michahelles (5 May 1807, Nuremberg – 15 August 1834, Nafplio, Nauplia) was a German zoology, zoologist and physician originally from Bavaria. From 1827, he studied medicine at the University of Munich, where he m ...

in 1830. In 1839 he published "''Reise durch Tyrol, Oberitalien und Piemont nach dem südlichen Spanien''" (Journey through

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, northern Italy and the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

to southern Spain). Also, he was the author of several

mineralogical Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

/ geognostic works associated with Passau and its environs.Google Search
publications

References

Biography - in German
ink dead 2007-sep-16 --> 1805 births">ink dead 2007-sep-16 --> 1805 births 1888 deaths German entomologists">1805 births 1888 deaths">1805 births">ink dead 2007-sep-16 --> 1805 births 1888 deaths German entomologists German naturalists 19th-century German physicians Academic staff of the University of Passau German science writers German male non-fiction writers {{entomologist-stub