Juan Gundlach

Johannes Christopher (then Juan Cristóbal ) Gundlach is a cuban Naturaliste of German origin , born the July 17th 1810 with Marbourg and dead the March 17th 1896 with Havana.

Child, it impassions himself for the Insecte S. After having lost the Odorat following an accidental shot, it becomes taxidermist, partly because it thus supports to work on bodies in the process of decomposition.

He is engaged by the university of Marbourg as preparer. Parallel to its functions, it there begins studies and obtains a title of doctor in 1837. A cuban student also attending the university, invites it to accompany it with Cuba to collect specimens there.

Arrived in 1839, they settle with Cárdenas. In 1852, Gundlach settles with Havana where it meets the naturalist Felipe Poey (1799-1891). Together, they set up a project of exploration of the east of the island where Gundlach goes 1856 to 1859.

It is during one of these forwardings that Gundlach discovers astonishing it Lézard by the family of the Xantusiidae, Cricosaura typica , that it describes in 1863 with Wilhelm Peters (1815-1883) to which it had sent various Reptile S for identification.

In 1864, Gundlach founds the cuban Natural history museum of natural history which will be transferred later to the Institute of Havana. As during the cuban insurrection of 1868 with 1878 the provinces of the east are not accessible any more, Gundlach turns to Puerto Rico which it explores in 1873 and in 1875.

It is interested mainly in the Oiseau X and the insects, but also publishes some work in Herpétologie, like its Contribucion á Erpetologia Cubana (1880).

George Newbold Lawrence (1806-1895) dedicates the scientific name of the to him Engoulevent piramidig ( Chordeiles gundlachii ) in 1857.

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