Johann Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in the "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is considered one of the most important entomologists of the 18th century, having named nearly 10,000 species of animals, and established the basis for the modern insect classification.

Biography

Johann Christian Fabricius was born on 7 January 1745 at Tønder in the Duchy of Schleswig, where his father was a doctor. Towards the end of his career, Fabricius spent much of his time living in Paris with his wife, where he frequently met with naturalists such as Georges Cuvier and Pierre André Latreille; On hearing of the British attack on Copenhagen in 1807, Fabricius returned to Kiel, damaging his already fragile health. He died on 3 March 1808, at the age of 63.

His daughter died in an accident in Paris, but he was survived by two sons, who both studied medicine.

Evolution

The evolutionary ideas of Fabricius are not well known. He believed that man originated from the great apes and that new species could be formed by the hybridization of existing species. He also has been called the "Father of Lamarckism" because of his belief that new species could form from morphological adaptation. Fabricius wrote about the influence of environment on development of species and selection phenomena (females preferring the strongest males).

Fabricius added two distinct areas to the classification system. He considers both artificial and natural characteristics. Artificial characteristics allow for the determination of a species, and natural ones allow for the relationship to other genera and varieties. He stated "those whose nourishment and biology are the same, must then belong to the same genus." Fabricius' system remains the basis of insect classification today, although the names he proposed are not. For instance, his name for the order containing the beetles was "Eleutherata", rather than the modern "Coleoptera", and he used "Piezata" for Hymenoptera; his term Glossata is still in use, but for a slightly smaller group among the Lepidoptera, rather than the whole order. Fabricius also foresaw that the male genitalia would provide useful characters for systematics, but could not apply that insight himself.

His major works on systematic entomology were:

  • (1787)
  • (1792–1799)
  • (1801)
  • (1803)
  • (1804)
  • (1805)
  • (1807)

Fabricius' collections are shared between the Natural History Museum, London, the , Paris, the Hope Department of Entomology, Oxford, the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, the Zoological Museum in Kiel, and the , Copenhagen.

Fabricius also wrote a few works on economics, although these are much less important than his zoological works. They include (1773), (1786–1790) and (1781).

References

Further reading

  • ZMCU Collection contents online
  • Digital version of Entomologia systematica, emendata et aucta
  • Henriksen, Kai L. (1932) Johann Christian Fabricius, pp. 76–80 in: Meisen, V. Prominent Danish Scientists through the Ages. University Library of Copenhagen 450th Anniversary. Levin & Munksgaard, Copenhagen.
  • Google Books (24 items)
  • Gallica (12 items)
  • HathiTrust (1 item)
  • Circumscriptional names
  • AnimalBase Comprehensive Fabricius literature and Fabricius taxa list.
  • ITIS "Taxon authors": list of taxa described by Fabricius
  • Encyclopedia of Life−EOL.org: Taxa described by Fabricius — Type Fabricius into the search box, complete and many supported by images.]
  • An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera London 1858 — biography on page XVI gives Fabricius' own account of his travels.