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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1751 |
De bestiis marinis.
Novi Comm. Acad. Sci. Petropolitanae 2: 289-398. Pls. 14-16.
–Allen 257. See also Mém. Acad. Sci. (4)11 (=25?): 294-330? Engl. transl.: Steller (1899), which is the version fully indexed here. For a critical edition of the original Latin text of the introduction, see Mattioli (2019). French transl.: F. Cuvier (1836). German transls.: Steller (1753a, b); J. C. Adelung (1768).
This description of the marine mammals of Bering Island, perhaps Steller's greatest work, is justly renowned for its detail and precision, despite having been written by a man literally shipwrecked on a desert island, with only a few books and under extremely difficult physical conditions. It was, moreover, published posthumously (after Steller's untimely death in 1746), without benefit of final revisions or corrections by its author, which doubtless accounts for some errors and discrepancies in the text. (For comparison of the printed work with the original manuscript, see P. P. Pekarskiy, 1869.) Nonetheless it provides a clear and thorough description of four previously unknown large marine mammals: the sea otter (Enhydra lutris), the fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubata), and Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas). This paper must therefore rank high on any list of the truly heroic achievements in natural history. Moreover, as it is by far the most detailed eyewitness account of the sea cow (though not, as sometimes imagined, the only one) and the only one written by a trained naturalist, it will forever remain our chief source of information on the biology of this great animal.
The section on the "Manati" which Steller discovered on Bering Island comprises the measurements (294-296) and a detailed account of the external (296-309) and internal anatomy (309-318) of a 7.5-meter female killed on July 12, 1742, with a description of the species' osteology (318-320), habits, and natural history (320-330), including parasites (311, 330). Pl. 14 illustrates the rostral masticating plates, which were the only specimens of Hydrodamalis which Steller was able to take with him when he left the island. Although he did not propose here any formal name for the sea cow (which would have been pre-Linnaean in any case), this verbal description was the ultimate and sole basis for all subsequent names applied to the species; no type specimens were ever designated. Likewise this description served as the basis for the names of the parasites Sirenocyamus Rhytinae J. F. Brandt, 1846 and Ascaris Rytinae Diesing, 1851.
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1753a |
Ausführliche Beschreibung von sonderbaren Meerthieren, mit Erläuterungen und nöthigen Kupfern versehen.
Halle, Carl Christian Kümmel: [xviii] + 218. 1 pl.
–Allen 263. Consists mainly of a German transl. of Steller (1751) (41-208). The account of the sea cow is on pp. 48-107; it includes many anatomical notes and corrections by an editor (see L. Stejneger, 1936: 593-594).
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1753b |
Beschreibung des Manati, oder der sogenannten Seekuh.
Hamburgisches Magazin 11(1 [or 2?]): 132-187. 1 pl.
–German transl. of Steller's (1751) account of Hydrodamalis. According to Stubbe (1996: 289), the translator was Johann Daniel Titius.
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1774 |
Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka dessen Einwohnern, deren Sitten, Nahmen, Lebensart und verschiedenen Gewohnheiten herausgegeben von J. B. S. [Jean Benoît Schérer]
Frankfurt & Leipzig, Johann Georg Fleischer: [viii] + 28 + 384 + 72. 10 pls. 2 maps.
–Pp. 97-98: {"Die Seekuh Manati, auf russisch Morskaia Korowa.... Die Seekühe befinden sich zwar allein um America und in den Inseln in dem Canale, werden aber dennoch zuweilen todt an das kamtschatkische Ufer getrieben, und daselbst ausgeworfen; ihre äuserliche und innerliche Gestalt und Beschaffenheit, ihr Nutzen und Nahrung, Sitte und Art wie sie dieselben fangen, sind hier überflüssig anzuführen, wie auch derer übrigen drey See- [98] thiere, und werde ich nur kürzlich von denen so noch zu beschreiben übrig, handeln."}
The use of the name Manati in this passage has been deemed to constitute the uninominal publication of a new generic name, which has been formally suppressed (see R. V. Melville, 1985). The statement that Hydrodamalis was found near America and the "islands in the Channel" probably refers merely to the Commander and western Aleutian islands (see Steller, 1925: 73, 82; Domning, 1978b: 135).
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1781 |
Topographische und physikalische Beschreibung der Beringsinsel, welche im östlichen Weltmeer an der Küste von Kamtschatka liegt. In: P. S. Pallas, Neue nordische Beyträge zur physikalischen und geographischen Erd- und Völkerbeschreibung, Naturgeschichte, und Oekonomie.
St. Petersburg & Leipzig, Johann Zacharias Logan: Vol. 2: 255-301.
–Engl. transl.: Steller (1925: 189-241; see also p. 180). Extracts from Steller's manuscript journal of the 1741-42 voyage, edited by Pallas.
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1793a |
Tagebuch seiner Seereise aus dem Petripauls Hafen in Kamtschatka bis an die westlichen Küsten von Amerika und seiner Begebenheiten auf der Rückreise. In: P. S. Pallas, Neue nordische Beyträge zur physikalischen und geographischen Erd- und Völkerbeschreibung, Naturgeschichte, und Oekonomie.
St. Petersburg & Leipzig, Johann Zacharias Logan: Vol. 5: 129-236; Vol. 6: 1-26.
–See also Steller (1793b). Engl. transl.: Steller (1925: 9-187).
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1793b |
Reise von Kamtschatka nach Amerika mit dem Commandeur-Capitän Bering. Ein Pendant zu dessen Beschreibung von Kamtschatka.
St. Petersburg, Johann Zacharias Logan: 1-133.
–Steller's journal, issued in book form from the type in Pallas' Neue nordische Beyträge, Vols. 5 & 6 (see Steller, 1793a). For differences in pagination of these two versions, see Steller (1925: 255-256).
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1899 |
The beasts of the sea. In: D. S. Jordan et al., The fur seals and fur-seal islands of the North Pacific Ocean. Part III. Special papers relating to the fur seal and to the natural history of the Pribilof Islands.
Washington, Govt. Printing Off. (xii + 629): 179-218.
–Abridged transl. of Steller (1751) by Walter and Jennie Emerson Miller; includes all of the material on Hydrodamalis (181-201). For comments, see under Steller (1751).
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Steller, Georg Wilhelm
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1925 |
Bering's voyages: an account of the efforts of the Russians to determine the relation of Asia and America. By F. A. Golder. In two volumes. Volume II: Steller's journal of the sea voyage from Kamchatka to America and return on the second expedition 1741-1742. Translated and in part annotated by Leonhard Stejneger.
Amer. Geogr. Soc. Research Series No. 2: xi + 290. 30 figs. 2 pls.
–Vol. 1 (1922) is listed here as F. A. Golder (1922). Vol. 2 includes a biographical note on Steller by Golder (1-7); Steller's journal (9-187; transl. from Steller, 1793a); his description of Bering Island (189-241; transl. from Steller, 1781); his letter to Gmelin about the voyage (242-249); a detailed and annotated bibliography (including manuscript sources) on Steller, on the Commander Islands and adjacent regions, and on Bering's expeditions (251-266); and an index and errata for both volumes (267-291). The transl. of the journal incorporates critical comparisons with the original manuscript.
The material on Steller's sea cow (vii, 139-140, 161, 180, 182, 226-237, 245) briefly summarizes the anatomical and behavioral observations reported in Steller (1751, 1899), and describes the techniques used by Bering's crew to kill sea cows on Bering Island and the use made of their meat and fat. The anatomical material is not indexed here in as great detail as for Steller (1899) (q.v.), as it is largely redundant.
The biographical note contains statements (pp. 3, 5) that Steller travelled to and wintered on Bering Island a second time, in 1743-44. As explained by Stejneger (1936: 439-440), however, this false idea is based on a misunderstanding and on confusion with Basov's first voyage.
A new transl. of Steller's journal was published as Journal of a voyage with Bering, 1741-1742 (O. W. Frost, ed.), Stanford Univ. Press: vi + 252, 1988.
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Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 