Johann Natterer

Johann Natterer (9 November 1787 – 17 June 1843) was an Austrian naturalist and explorer. He was the son of royal falconer Joseph Natterer and along with his brother Joseph Natterer (1786–1852) took a keen interest in natural history. He collected natural history specimens extensively from South America and numerous species from his collections were named after him.

Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer
Born	(1787-11-09)November 9, 1787
Died	June 17, 1843(1843-06-17) (aged 55)
Nationality	Austrian
Education	Attended material academy and university lectures
Occupation(s)	Naturalist, Explorer
Known for	Extensive collection of specimens from South America, including new species
Parent(s)	Joseph Natterer Sr. (father), Maria Anna Theresia Schober (mother)
Relatives	Joseph Natterer (brother)

Family and early life

Natterer's birthplace in Laxenburg

Johann Natterer was born in Laxenberg, the son of the natural history specimen collector and falconer Joseph Natterer Sr. (1754–1823) and Maria Anna Theresia Schober (his mother), the daughter of a master baker from Laxenburg. He had a brother (Joseph Natterer, 1786–1852). Joseph Natterer Sr. was the last mounted falconer of Austria. When Emperor Franz I dissolved the falconry (Falknerei) in Laxenburg, he bought the collection of Joseph Natterer Sr. This contained numerous domestic birds, mammals, and insects, and Franz I assigned it the further support and the development of the collection.

The collection was brought in 1794 to Vienna and incorporated in the Tiercabinet with the k.k physical-astronomical as well as the Kunstcabinet. The collection was soon made accessible to the public, however without scientific or didactic value. Joseph Natterer Sr. introduced both his sons to the collection and taught them the art of preparing skins and mounts. The director of the collection was Karl von Schreibers and he was assisted by Joseph Natterer junior, who began his career as a volunteer aide and terminated as first curator (Kustos) of the collection, while Johann became, in 1808, a volunteer (freiwilliger) coworker.

Johann Natterer initially attended a Piarist school; however, in 1794, he transferred to a normal school and completed high school (gymnasium) there. From 1802 to 1803, Johann Natterer attended the material academy and heard scientific lectures at the university. He travelled through Europe collecting specimens and preparing them for the museum. He travelled to Turkey and Italy with the taxidermist Dominik Sochor from 1812 to 1814.

Expeditions

In 1817, Emperor Franz I^[1] financed an expedition to Brazil on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Archduchess Maria Leopoldina to the Portuguese crown prince, Dom Pedro of Alcantara (who was later to become Emperor of Brazil).^[1] Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, a keen naturalist considered it an opportunity to send a team of naturalists and scientists. Natterer was initially considered for the expedition leader position but this was given to Johann Christian Mikan and he was selected as the zoologist on the expedition and was accompanied by other naturalists including Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. The team fell apart with several members falling sick. The Austrian government withdrew support in 1821 following unrest in Brazil. Johann Natterer and his friend Dominik Sochor remained in South America. He fell sick with hepatitis in 1825 and the next year Sochor died at São Vicente. He continued to collect specimens until 1835,^[1] returning to Vienna with a large collection of specimens, including new species such as the South American lungfish, which he gave to the Imperial Natural-Science Cabinet (K.k. Naturaliencabinet), the predecessor of the Naturhistorisches Museum.^[2]

Field notes

Natterer did not publish an account of his travels, and his notebooks and diary were destroyed in the Hofburg fire of 1848 during the Vienna Revolution; however, his specimen collections of 60,000 insects were a part of the "Brazilian museum" in the "Harrach' house" and escaped the fire.

Natterer also collected word lists of dozens of indigenous South American languages, including of various Arawakan, Tupian, Bororoan,^[3] and other languages. The lists are mostly still in unpublished manuscripts that are currently still being digitized.^[4][5][6]

Specimens collected by Natterer

• Holoshesthes pequira (Steindachner 1882)^[7]

Species named after Natterer

A number of animals are named after Johann Natterer, including

Birds

• Natterer's slaty antshrike (Thamnophilus stictocephalus) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.^[8]

Natterer's slaty antshrike

• The tawny-tufted toucanet, Selenidera nattereri is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae.^[9] It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and possible Guyana.^[10]

• The Snow-capped Manakin Lepidothrix nattereri is a species of bird in the family Pipridae. It is found in the Amazon Basin of Brazil and far northeastern Bolivia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.^[11]

• The Ochre-breasted Pipit, Anthus nattereri is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

• The Cinnamon-throated Hermit Phaethornis nattereri is a species in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.^[12]

• The Speckle-breasted Antpitta Cryptopezus nattereri is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.^[13]

Mammals

• Natterer's bat, Myotis nattereri (Kuhl, 1817) is a European vespertilionid bat^[14] with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa.^[15][16][17]

Reptiles

These species of reptiles are named in his honor: ^[18]

• Lystrophis nattereri,

• Philodryas nattereri, the Paraguay green racer, is a species of venomous snake, endemic to South America.it is found in Paraguay and Brazil, where it inhabits open forests, fields and cerrado.

• Natterer's gecko, Tropiocolotes nattereri is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to northeastern Africa and Western Asia.

• The Cuyaba dwarf frog, Physalaemus nattereri is a frog native to central and southeastern Brazil and eastern Bolivia and Paraguay.^[19]

• Micrurus nattereri, Natterer’s coral snake or the Venezuelan aquatic coral snake, is a species of coral snake in the family Elapidae. Specimens have been identified mostly along the upper Orinoco River.^[20]

• Xenodon nattereri is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is found in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.^[21]

• Dryophylax nattereri, the Amazon coastal house snake or northern coastal house snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.

Insects

• Heliconius nattereri, Natterer's longwing is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is endemic to the Atlantic forest of Brazil.^[22]

Arachnids

• Actinopus nattereri is a species of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It is found in Brazil.^[23]

Fish

Copella nattereri

• The spotted tetra fish, Copella nattereri Steindachner, 1876 is a species of fish in the splashing tetra family found in the upper Amazon basin, as well as the Rio Negro and Orinoco basins.^[24]

• The Blue Corydoras or Natterer's Catfish Corydoras nattereri Steindachner, 1876 is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Corydoradinae of the family Callichthyidae. It originates in coastal rivers in South America, and is found in the Brazil from Espírito Santo to Paraná^[25]

• The South American fish Leporinus nattereri Steindachner 1876.^[26]

• The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri Kner 1858, is a type of piranha native to South America, found in the Amazon, Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo basins, as well as coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil.^[27][28] This fish is locally abundant in its freshwater habitat.^[29][30]

• The Dawn Tetra, Panda Tetra, or Rio Paraguay Tetra, Aphyocharax nattereri (Steindachner 1882) comes from the Rio Paraguay basin in Paraguay and Brazil.^[31]

• Brycon nattereri Günther 1864^[32]

• Hoplisoma nattereri (Steindachner 1876) ^[33]

• Farlowella nattereri Steindachner 1910 is a species of armored catfish of the family native to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru. It occurs in the upper Essequibo and Amazon basins.^[34]

• Trachydoras nattereri (Steindachner 1881) is a species of thorny catfish native to the Amazon basin of Brazil, Colombia and Peru. ^[35]

• The Ghost Knifefish, Sternarchogiton nattereri (Steindachner 1868) ^[36]

• Apionichthys nattereri is a species of sole in the family Achiridae.^[37]

• Insperanos nattereri (Steindachner, 1876) is a species of anostomid fish. It is found in the Rio Negro, Aleixo Lake, and the central Amazon basin in Brazil.^[38]

Further reading

• "Johann Natterer," in Tom Taylor and Michael Taylor, Aves: A Survey of the Literature of Neotropical Ornithology, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Libraries, 2011.