Johann Rudolph Rengger
Johann Rudolph Rengger | |
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Born | Zoologist | 13 January 1795
Johann Rudolph Rengger was a Swiss naturalist and doctor, author of a book on exploration in Paraguay.[2]
He published a work on the physiology of insects.[3] He also studied the fauna of Paraguay,[4] and published in 1835 a Reise nach Paraguay in den Jahren 1818 bis 1826.[1]
Early life
Johann Rudolf Rengger was born in Baden as the son of the pastor Samuel Rengger. Since his parents died early, his uncle
The Paraguayan trip
After a stay in
I lived for six years in these lands whose capital, Asunción, was my usual abode. From there I traveled the country in all directions, but visited preferably the less populated and very desolate regions. Every year, for example, I spent several months outdoor, in isolated dairies, sometimes in deserted jungles. During these journeys, and since time did not count, I focused my attention on natural history, on the life in this wilderness through the beauty and the greatness of the surrounding nature, and with this satisfaction, regardless of overcome dangers and difficulties that did not really attract me, I therefore used the resulting leisure time to dedicate myself to zoological observations. From the majority of mammal species, I observed a fairly large number of individuals, I determined their characteristic features and the variations they offered according to sex, age, season, and individuality, and studied the animals often for days to learn their household in their wild state. At the same time, I spared neither effort nor cost of keeping alive animals and raising them in our dwelling, which gave me much new information about their behavior and their temperament, and especially about the changes that they undergo with age.
— Rengger, Johann Rudolph (1835), Reise nach Paraguay in den Jahren 1818 bis 1826, pages xix-xx
However, at the time of these explorations, Paraguay was virtually isolated from the outside world by the dictator
Return in Europe
On February 25, 1826, after almost eight years of absence, Rengger entered the European soil again. After a short stay in Paris, where he became acquainted with Alexander von Humboldt and Georges Cuvier, Rengger arrived in Aarau on March 16. He immediately proceeded to compile his careful and exact observations, and present the results of his research. However, because the enigmatic personality of the dictator of Paraguay questioned people, Rengger first published the Historical essay on the revolution of Paraguay and the Dictatorial government of Doctor Francia (1827). Book sections concerning the dictator previously appeared under the title Doctor Francia in the Stuttgarter Morgenblatt (1827, No. 140-145), a publication that prompted the dictator to answer (The Times, November 6, 1830). Rengger then completed his work of the natural history and published his book on the mammal world of Paraguay, which met with great interest in scientific circles (1830). After that, he worked on a description of his journey to Paraguay intended for a larger group of readers.
In the fall of 1831, he travelled to Italy. On February 15, 1832, in Naples, Rengger fell ill with pneumonia. After a partial recovery, he could travel back to his homeland. His condition worsened again and he died on October 9, 1832, in Aarau. In 1835, his uncle Albrecht Rengger and his brother-in-law Ferdinand Wydler published the Journey to Paraguay.[1] The book contains valuable fragments about land, people, and animals.[5]
Taxonomic descriptions
Johann Rudolph Rengger described several taxa:
- an echimyid rodent, the long-tailed spiny rat: Proechimys longicaudatus(Rengger, 1830) ;
- a chinchillid rodent, the plains viscacha: Viscacia (Rengger, 1830), which is a genus synonym for Lagostomus ;[7]
- a cricetid rodent, the large vesper mouse: Calomys callosus(Rengger, 1830) ;
- a primate, the Azaras's capuchin: Sapajus cay;
- an orb web weaving spider: Parawixia bistriata (Rengger, 1836).
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9783845712567.
- ISBN 9782847886887.
- ^ Rengger, Johann Rudolph (1817). "Physiologische Untersuchungen über die thierische Haushaltung der Insecten". Tübingen: H. Laupp.
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(help) - ^ Rengger, Johann Rudolph (1830). "Naturgeschichte der Saeugethiere von Paraguay". Supplementary material in Darwin's copy. Basel: Schweighauser.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Albert Schumann (1889), "Rengger, Johann Rudolf", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 28, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 220–222
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1878. p. 36. .
- ISBN 9780226169606.