History / 3. History of science and technology

Candidate of biological science, He Vladimir Henhonovich

Stavropol state university (SSU), Stavropol, the Russian Federation

History of zoological researches of various Russian regions at the end of the XVIII-th beginning of the XIX-th centuries.

Zoological researches of the European North-east of Russia at the end of the XVIII-th beginning of the XIX-th centuries have been caused by the practical developing of the territory connected with the building Ekaterininskiy channel, ores exploration for factories under construction, searching the ways to connect Obskiy, Pechorskiy and Karskiy river basin. By the beginning of the XIX-th century the complex description of northern provinces of the Russian empire – Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, Vologda and Oloneck was begun.

Diaries written by I.I. Lepyohin, A.I. Shrenk, A. Shegren, V.N. Latkin are referred to the first works devoted to European North-east part of Russia. Despite their high scientific value, they can’t be related to any special branch of knowledge but these works allow to estimate fully the condition of zoological, geographical, historical and cultural landscapes.

The scientific fauna description of the mammals in the Ural began since the XVIII-th century. It was initiated by P.I. Rychkov who was engaged in geographical researches of the Orenburg province over 40 years. Parallel with these researches he was collecting data on fauna of mammals from the territories adjacent to the Orenburg province.

In the section "About cattles and animals" of his fundamental work "Topography of the Orenburg province" (Rychkov, 1762) the author described 30 species of wild and 5 species of domestic mammals. By these descriptions one can judge how the musk-rats and beavers on the rivers of Bashkiria, corsacs in the trans-Ural steppes and forest-steppes, “tarpans” – extinct species of wild horses – to the north from the river Ural, wild boars, Saiga tartaricas and roes (deers) in areas, boundary with present Sverdlovsk area were distributed two hundred years ago. Some of the species described by P.I. Rychkov disappeared from the earth (tarpans), some others (corsacs) do not appear near the borders of the Sverdlovsk area, the third ones (beavers, wild boars) were absent for a long time, but now have for whatever reasons appeared again. P.I. Rychkov’s scientific materials allow to track now not simply the changes of mammal fauna for the last centuries, but also to reconstruct ecological mechanisms of development of its changes and, finally, to investigate ecological laws of formation of modern biotas at Sredniy Ural and to predict its further transformations.

The important stage in studying mammal fauna of the Ural became the large-scale expeditions organized at the second half of the XVIII-th century by the Russian Academy of sciences. One of them, carried out in 1768 – 1770 under the direction of the academician I.I. Lepyokhin, passed across the Southern and Sredniy Ural on the route: Guryev – Tobolsk – Ekaterinburg – Krasnoufimsk – Ekaterinburg – Tyumen – Turinsk – Solikamsk. In the work "Day time notes of travel on different provinces of the Russian state" (Lepyokhin, 1771-1772) I.I. Lepyokhin notes: "In surroundings of the village Volkovaja near to the river Tagil there are bears, gluttons, chipmunks". Concerning specific structure mammal in mountain landscapes he wrote: "In woody mountains close Tabynsk there are squirrels, deers, hares, grey hares, bears, wolves, foxes, occasionally one come across polecats, ermines, weasels, and in the mountains many ordinary and black “karabysh” (hamsters) can be found. On the rivers flowing from the Ural there are beavers, but they are rather rare... In the area of the Sinarskiy mine at the mountain Barskuk-Tau there are badgers. Martens, sables, ermines, squirrels, Arctic foxes, wolves, otters, gluttons, beavers, deers, lambs are sold at the Irbitz markets". In total at the time of the expedition I.I. Lepyokhin fixed in the surveyed territory of a meeting with 21 species of mammals, including 2 species of hares, 5 – rodents, 12 – predatory, 2 – ungulate animals. Even such characteristics in the given descriptions as "many "commonly", "now and then", " occasionally ", allow to build up at least a five-point rating scale of abundance and to compare the data of two hundred year's prescription with the modern ones.

Another expedition which involved the researches of the Southern and Sredniy Ural, was supervised by the academician P.S. Pallas. In 1769 this expedition was following the route: Samara – Buzuluk – Orenburg – Ilezk – Orsk, and in 1770 on the route: Ufa – Katav – Ivanovsk – Miass – Chelyabinsk – Kasli – Ekaterinburg – Nizhni Tagil – Bogoslovsk (Karpinsk) – Vogulske Urty (in the river basin Vagran) –Kachkanar – Suhoy Log – Chelyabinsk – Troitsk – Chelyabinsk. The results of zoological researches P.S .Pallas described in fundamental works "Travel on different provinces of the Russian Empire" (Pallas, 1771-1788) and "Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica " (Pallas, 1811-1831). For the Ural region there were mentioned 36 species of mammals, referred to 5 classes. For some particular species were given detailed evidences on their distribution in biology. In particular, P.S. Pallas informed on the presence of sables in upper the rivers Ufa and near the town of Verhoturje; on the furs of muskrats, beavers, corsacs, otters trade in Troizkaya fortress. Such data on fur trade of those or other species of mammals are also the sources of information on the distribution of these species as far as these bargainings involved only the inhabitants, and all sold furs were taken from the animals extracted in neighborhood of a place where the trade was taking place.

Pupils, taking part at this expedition together with P.S. Pallas, in the course of time also became academicians N.P. Sokolov and V.F. Zuev and travelled independently to the areas adjacent with the Ural.

In 1770 N.P. Sokolov surveyed the lower reaches of the Ural up to the Caspian sea, collected thus the collection of the rodents consisting of 6 species. V.F. Zuev in 1771 followed the route: Northern Zauralye from Chelyabinsk through Tobolsk and Berezov up to Obdorsk (Salekhard) and the coast of the Arctic Ocean in the area of the Lesnaya Guba. In this expedition V.F.Zuev noted 13 species of mammals and gave a number of interesting data on the number of some species. In particular, meaning woody Zauralye which is close to the territory of the present Sverdlovsk area, he wrote in his report: "... lots of animals were... closer here in the woods there were elks, lynxes, sables, ermines and squirrels, and at the rivers there were otters and beavers, seldom mountain bears... " (Pallas, 1771-1788).

The history of scientific studying of Siberia mammals is inseparably linked with the history of theoretical researches in all regions of the Russian empire. Mammals of Siberia were the subject of research of the outstanding scientists of the past.

Expeditions of the XVII-XIX-th centuries at the territory of the present Kemerovo area were not numerous as far as scientists tried to bypass this difficult of access for the horse caravans remote mountain area. Thus expedition under the direction of P.S. Pallas (1771) passed considerably to the north, while traveling collected and described representatives of the local fauna. Nevertheless in the fundamental book – «Zoogeographia Rosso-Asiatica », dated by 1778 year P.S. Pallas gave the description of a new species of mammals for the first time found out by him at this area. It was Sorex minutissimus Pall., – tiny shrew, holotype of which was caught in the neighborhood of the village Kijskoe on the river Kia.

Some time earlier along the river Tom’ passed one of the groups of the expedition headed by D.G. Messershmidt. In 1721 he went from Tomsk upwards the river to its upper river. S.P. Krasheninnikov also visited «Kuznetsk mountains» in 1772. Later this territory was repeatedly visited by zoologists from the Tomsk university based in 1888. However these researches were characterized by single visits, or in some other cases their purpose was devoted to some little class of species within the limits of the local territory.

The earliest data about the mammals Transbaikalia are referred to the middle of the XVIII-th century. They can be found in works by S.G. Gmelin and P.S. Pallas. Systematic studying of mammals and fauna world in Pribaikalye and Transbaikalia had been started by I.D. Cherskiy since 1873. By the end of the XIX-th century many species of mammals typical for the fauna of modern Transbaikalia (Cherskiy, 1891) became known for this territory. Key role in studying transbaikalian mammal and fauna world played the foundation of a local lore museum in Troizosavsk in which the zoological material began to be collected. The list of mammals, stored in this museum, was published at the end of the last century by V.S. Molleson (1898) – one of the founders of the local lore museum.

Since the moment of foundation and the beginning of an active scientific activity of the Russian Academy of sciences there worked many different expeditions in the Northeast of Siberia. They collected various facts from a life of animals of the region and compiled collections on the scientific studying of mammals. Most known of these expeditions were carried out by F. Vrangel, G. Majdel, E. Nordensheld, V. Iohelson, S. Buturlin, L. Portenko (Chernyavsky, 2002).

First zoological researches of the European north of Russia were lead in 1772 by the academicians N.D. Ozeretskovskiy and I.I. Lepyokhin. In biology and specific structure of fauna mammals the above mentioned scientists collected materials, on their way back from Tyumen to Petersburg through the Zyrjansky region. However, I.I. Lepyokhin's first published work, in which he was speaking about some mammals of the modern European north of Russia (in particular, republics Komis), was referred only to 1805 year.

The history of scientific studying of the Northern Ossetia begins since 1768 when geological expedition in the valleys of the rivers Fiagdon and Ardon was carried out by S. Vonjavin. Members of this expedition collected parallel with minerals also the zoological material. Zoological researches at the Central Caucasus, and in particular in the valley Ardon, were carried out by N.J. Dinnik, L.B. Beme, N.K. Vereschagin, P. Emeljanenko and many others.

The literature:

1. Rychkov P.I. About cattles and animals // Topography of the Orenburg province. – 1762.

2. Lepyokhin I.I. Day notes of doctor’s travel and the Academy of sciences and junior scientific assistant Ivan Lepyokhin across different provinces of the Russian state. – Saint Petersburg, 1771-1804. – P. I-IV.