Nikolai Alekseevich Severtzov (November 5, 1827 – February 8, 1885) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n 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...

.

On an expedition to the Syr Darya

Syr Darya

The Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...

 he was captured by bandits and freed after a month. In 1865-68 he explored the Tien Shan and Lake Issyk Kul

Issyk Kul

Issyk Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means "hot...

. In 1877-78 he explored the Pamir Mountains

Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...

 following a route close to the current Pamir Highway

Pamir Highway

The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia...

 as far as Lake Yashil Kul on the Ghunt River.

Severtzov wrote the Vertical and horizontal distribution of Turkestan

Turkestan

Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...

 wildlife (1873), which included the first description of a number of animals. Among them are an argali

Argali

The argali, or the mountain sheep is a wild sheep, which roams the highlands of Central Asia . It is the biggest wild sheep, standing at the shoulder, measuring long and weighing , with a maximum known weight of...

 (wild sheep) subspecies later named after him Ovis ammon severtzovi. He also described many new species and subspecies of birds. The Spotted Great Rosefinch

Spotted Great Rosefinch

The Spotted Great Rosefinch is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, and southwestern China....

 Carpodacus severtzovi is among the species named after him.

The Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Russian Academy of Sciences

The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....

 in Moscow is named after his son Alexey Severtzov.