Leopold Fitzinger | |
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Born | Vienna, Austria | 13 April 1802
Died | 20 September 1884 Hietzing (Viennese district), Austria | (aged 82)
Education | University of Vienna |
Known for | Neue Classification der Reptilien, Systema Reptilium |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Zoology |
Institutions | Natural History Museum, Vienna |
Author abbrev. (zoology) | Fitzinger |
Leopold Joseph Franz Johann Fitzinger (13 April 1802 – 20 September 1884) was an Austrian zoologist.
Fitzinger was born in Vienna and studied botany at the University of Vienna under Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin. He worked at the Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum between 1817, when he joined as a volunteer assistant, and 1821, when he left to become secretary to the provincial legislature of Lower Austria; after a hiatus, he was appointed assistant curator in 1844 and remained at the Naturhistorisches Museum until 1861. Later, he became director of the zoos of Munich and Budapest.
In 1826, he published Neue Classification der Reptilien, based partly on the work of his friends Friedrich Wilhelm Hemprich and Heinrich Boie. In 1843, he published Systema Reptilium, covering geckos, chameleons and iguanas.
Fitzinger is commemorated in the scientific names of five reptiles: Algyroides fitzingeri, Leptotyphlops fitzingeri, Liolaemus fitzingerii, Micrurus tener fitzingeri, and Oxyrhopus fitzingeri.
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