Carl Alexander Clerck
Encyclopedia
Carl Alexander Clerck was a Swedish
entomologist and arachnologist
.
Clerck came from a family in the petty nobility
and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of his studies; although a contemporary of Linnaeus
, it is unknown whether he had any contact with him during his time in Uppsala. His limited means forced him to leave university early and enter into government service, later ending up working in the administration of the City of Stockholm
.
His interest in natural history appears to have come at a more mature age, influenced by a lecture of Linnaeus he attended in Stockholm in 1739. In the following years he collected and categorized a large number of spider
s, published together with more general observations on the morphology and behaviour of spiders, in his Svenska Spindlar
("Swedish spiders", 1757, also known by its Latin subtitle, Aranei Suecici). He also started the publication of Icones insectorum rariorum, a series of detailed but uncommented plates illustrating numerous species of butterflies
, left unfinished
after the third fascicle (1766) because of Clerck's death.
Because of the exceptionally thorough treatment of the spider species, the scientific names proposed by Clerck in Svenska Spindlar
(which were adopted by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 with only minor modifications) had traditionally been recognized by arachnologists as binominal and available, later this was officially recognized in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
.. This means that in case of doubt the spelling of a spider name as from Clerck's 1757 work has priority over that proposed by Linnaeus in 1758 (an example is Araneus instead of Aranea), and that Clerck's spiders were the first animals in modern zoology to have obtained an available scientific name in the Linnean system. The name of the first species to have obtained an available name in the binominal system was Araneus angulatus
.
He eventually became a friend and correspondent of Linnaeus, who appreciated his work greatly, and through his sponsorship was elected a member of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
in 1756 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
in 1764.
Clerck's collection is in the Swedish Museum of Natural History http://www.nrm.se/inenglish.4.11e7cc61015dbd72f9800087.html
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
entomologist and arachnologist
Arachnology
Arachnology is the scientific study of spiders and related animals such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, collectively called arachnids. However, the study of ticks and mites is sometimes not included in arachnology, but is called Acarology...
.
Clerck came from a family in the petty nobility
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of his studies; although a contemporary of Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, it is unknown whether he had any contact with him during his time in Uppsala. His limited means forced him to leave university early and enter into government service, later ending up working in the administration of the City of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
His interest in natural history appears to have come at a more mature age, influenced by a lecture of Linnaeus he attended in Stockholm in 1739. In the following years he collected and categorized a large number of spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, published together with more general observations on the morphology and behaviour of spiders, in his Svenska Spindlar
Svenska Spindlar
The book or was one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and appeared in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first comprehensive book on the spiders of Sweden and one of the first regional monographs of a group of animals worldwide...
("Swedish spiders", 1757, also known by its Latin subtitle, Aranei Suecici). He also started the publication of Icones insectorum rariorum, a series of detailed but uncommented plates illustrating numerous species of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, left unfinished
Unfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
after the third fascicle (1766) because of Clerck's death.
Because of the exceptionally thorough treatment of the spider species, the scientific names proposed by Clerck in Svenska Spindlar
Svenska Spindlar
The book or was one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and appeared in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first comprehensive book on the spiders of Sweden and one of the first regional monographs of a group of animals worldwide...
(which were adopted by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 with only minor modifications) had traditionally been recognized by arachnologists as binominal and available, later this was officially recognized in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals...
.. This means that in case of doubt the spelling of a spider name as from Clerck's 1757 work has priority over that proposed by Linnaeus in 1758 (an example is Araneus instead of Aranea), and that Clerck's spiders were the first animals in modern zoology to have obtained an available scientific name in the Linnean system. The name of the first species to have obtained an available name in the binominal system was Araneus angulatus
Araneus angulatus
Araneus angulatus is a species of orb-weaving spider found in the Palaearctic. It resembles the European garden spider, Araneus diadematus, but has distinctive tubercles on its abdomen...
.
He eventually became a friend and correspondent of Linnaeus, who appreciated his work greatly, and through his sponsorship was elected a member of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala , is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign....
in 1756 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
in 1764.
Clerck's collection is in the Swedish Museum of Natural History http://www.nrm.se/inenglish.4.11e7cc61015dbd72f9800087.html