José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
Encyclopedia
José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta (variations José d'Anchieta, José Anchieta, José de Anchieta - b. October 9, 1832 in Lisbon
, Portugal
, d. September 14, 1897 in Caconda
, Angola
) was a 19th century Portuguese
explorer and naturalist
who, between 1866 and 1897, travelled extensively in Angola
, Africa
, collecting animal
s and plants. These species were sent out to Portugal, where they were later examined by several zoologists
and botanists
, chiefly among them J.V. Barboza du Bocage. Many of the species of birds, amphibians, lizards, snakes, fishes and mammals described by him were unknown and thus were named for Anchieta with the species designation anchietae. Some of them were:
at the University of Coimbra. Due to his fierce independence and excentric character, however, he did not adapt well and moved to the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa (Polytechnic School). In 1857, one of his closest friends moved to Cabo Verde, a Portuguese colony
and a group of island
s in the Atlantic Ocean
in West Africa
, and Anchieta went to join him. He spent his time studying the local flora and fauna in the island of Santo Antão
, and finally ended up helping the local inhabitants as an amateur physician (he had studied some medicine
). A cholera
epidemic
killed most of the inhabitants and he almost died too, but he was able to return to Portugal
after two years. Following what he thought was his vocation, he studied medicine in Lisbon, London
and Paris
, but could not complete the course, and returned to Africa again, this time to Angola
, one of the largest West African Portuguese colonies. He was successful as an explorer of the hinterland and as a naturalist, and after studying and collecting many new animal and plant species, he returned to Portugal. Unfortunately most of his collections had been lost when his canoe foundered in a river, but he donated what remained to the natural history museum of the Polytechnic School.
In 1865, he travelled back on his own once again to his beloved Angola. This time, he was already married and his wife accompanied him. He stayed on his own in the region of Benguela
, establishing a laboratory inside the ruins of a church, and exploring and collecting animals; until, in 1867, the Portuguese government hired him, overtly as a naturalist. But what is most probable is that Anchieta was recruited as a secret agent and informer in the Caconda
region of Angola, one of the most extreme points of its territory. He stayed there, researching, exploring and sending many specimens and letters to his scientific correspondents in Lisbon. He also helped medically in the local hospital
and was much appreciated by the population as a dedicated and humane care-giving person.
Unfortunately, little is known in the manner of documentation about this period of Anchieta's life, because most of the museum specimens have disappeared, as well as his many letters to du Bocage, in a catastrophic fire in the Museum, in 1978.
Achieta died while returning from a zoological expedition to Caconda, in 1897, at 66 years of age, probably of the chronic consequences of malaria
, which he and his wife caught, and which had severely mined his health for many years.
In all, according to du Bocage, Anchieta's zoological output was truly prolific. He was responsible for identifying 25 new species of mammals, 46 of birds and 46 of amphibians and ophidians. He didn't care much for writing scientific papers, though, but left this to his correspondents in Lisbon.
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, d. September 14, 1897 in Caconda
Caconda
Caconda is a municipality and city situated in the North of the province of Huila, Angola, in the Plano Alto region, approximately 280 km North of Lubango, the provincial capital city, and approximately 700 km South from Luanda, the country's capital city. The Concelho was officially founded on...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
) was a 19th century Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorer and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
who, between 1866 and 1897, travelled extensively in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, collecting animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s and plants. These species were sent out to Portugal, where they were later examined by several zoologists
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and botanists
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, chiefly among them J.V. Barboza du Bocage. Many of the species of birds, amphibians, lizards, snakes, fishes and mammals described by him were unknown and thus were named for Anchieta with the species designation anchietae. Some of them were:
- Anchieta's SunbirdSunbirdThe sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders,...
(Anthreptes anchietae), a birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. - Anchieta's BarbetBarbetAmerican barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans....
(Stactolaema anchietae), a bird. - Anchieta's TchagraTchagraThe Tchagras are passerine birds in the bushshrike family, which are closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and were once included in that group...
(Tchagra anchietae), a bird. - Anchieta's Ridged FrogFrogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
(Ptychadena anchietae). - Anchieta's Dune LizardLizardLizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
(Meroles anchietae). - Anchieta's Frog (Hylambates anchietae).
- Anchieta's ChameleonChameleonChameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
(Chaemeleo anchietae). - Anchieta's CobraCobraCobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
(Naja annulifera anchietae), a venomous snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. - Anchieta's Dwarf Python (Python anchietaePython anchietaePython anchietae is a nonvenomous python species found in Angola and Namibia. It is a rare species closely related to the royal python, P. regius. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:Adults may grow up to 183 cm in length...
), a non-venomous snake. - Anchieta's Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus anchietai), a batBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. - Anchieta's Elephantfish (Mormyrus anchietae).
- Anchieta's AntelopeAntelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
(Cephalophus anchietae).
Life
Anchieta was born in 1832, in Lisbon, and started his studies in mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Coimbra. Due to his fierce independence and excentric character, however, he did not adapt well and moved to the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa (Polytechnic School). In 1857, one of his closest friends moved to Cabo Verde, a Portuguese colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
and a group of island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in West Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Anchieta went to join him. He spent his time studying the local flora and fauna in the island of Santo Antão
Santo Antão
Santo Antão , or Sontonton in Cape Verdean Creole, is the westernmost and largest of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. The nearest main island is São Vicente to the southeast, separated by a channel named Canal de São Vicente...
, and finally ended up helping the local inhabitants as an amateur physician (he had studied some medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
). A cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
killed most of the inhabitants and he almost died too, but he was able to return to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
after two years. Following what he thought was his vocation, he studied medicine in Lisbon, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, but could not complete the course, and returned to Africa again, this time to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, one of the largest West African Portuguese colonies. He was successful as an explorer of the hinterland and as a naturalist, and after studying and collecting many new animal and plant species, he returned to Portugal. Unfortunately most of his collections had been lost when his canoe foundered in a river, but he donated what remained to the natural history museum of the Polytechnic School.
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
, establishing a laboratory inside the ruins of a church, and exploring and collecting animals; until, in 1867, the Portuguese government hired him, overtly as a naturalist. But what is most probable is that Anchieta was recruited as a secret agent and informer in the Caconda
Caconda
Caconda is a municipality and city situated in the North of the province of Huila, Angola, in the Plano Alto region, approximately 280 km North of Lubango, the provincial capital city, and approximately 700 km South from Luanda, the country's capital city. The Concelho was officially founded on...
region of Angola, one of the most extreme points of its territory. He stayed there, researching, exploring and sending many specimens and letters to his scientific correspondents in Lisbon. He also helped medically in the local hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
and was much appreciated by the population as a dedicated and humane care-giving person.
Unfortunately, little is known in the manner of documentation about this period of Anchieta's life, because most of the museum specimens have disappeared, as well as his many letters to du Bocage, in a catastrophic fire in the Museum, in 1978.
Achieta died while returning from a zoological expedition to Caconda, in 1897, at 66 years of age, probably of the chronic consequences of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, which he and his wife caught, and which had severely mined his health for many years.
In all, according to du Bocage, Anchieta's zoological output was truly prolific. He was responsible for identifying 25 new species of mammals, 46 of birds and 46 of amphibians and ophidians. He didn't care much for writing scientific papers, though, but left this to his correspondents in Lisbon.
See also
- José de AnchietaJosé de AnchietaJosé de Anchieta was a Canarian Jesuit missionary to Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the 1st century after its discovery on April 22, 1500 by a Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, Anchieta was one of the founders of...
(Brazilian Jesuit priest, although also a naturalist, was no kin of this one) - List of things named Anchieta
External links
- Guedes, ME: José de Anchieta, o Feiticeiro (In Portuguese).
- José de Anchieta, Explorer of Angola. Species discovered by Anchieta and described by J.V. Barboza du Bocage.
- Barboza du Bocage, JV: José d'Anchieta. Eulogy. Jornal das Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes. Academia Real de Sciencias de Lisboa. 5(18), December 1897 Article fac-simile (In Portuguese).