Biography.guide
Home › People › Naturalist › Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein
Portrait of Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein

1833 – 1870

German zoologist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein

Lived 1833 – 1870 (aged 37). Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein was a naturalist, zoologist, university teacher and herpetologist.

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein (7 June 1833, Winsen (Luhe) – 25 January 1870) was a German naturalist. He described a number of reptiles and amphibians for the first time.

He originally studied hydraulic engineering in Hanover, later becoming a lecturer and professor of zoology at the University of Göttingen.

With zoologist Ernst Ehlers (1835-1925), he wrote Zoologische Beiträge gesammelt im Winter 1859/60 in Neapel und Messina... in 1861. With Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer (1829-1902) he was co-author of a study on the electric organs of Gymnotus and Mormyrus that was published in Henle and Pfeufer's Zeitschrift für rationelle Medicin (Journal of rational medicine). He also made important contributions to Heinrich Georg Bronn's Die Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier-Reichs (Classes and Orders of the Animal Kingdom).

Keferstein's tree frog is named after him (a species he described in 1868), as is a genus of polychaetes, Kefersteinia (family Hesionidae).

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Kingdom of Hanover
Education
University of Göttingen
Employers
University of Göttingen
Also known as
Keferstein

People in Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein?

German zoologist (1833-1870)

When was Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein born?

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein was born on 7 January 1833 in Winsen.

When did Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein die?

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein died on 25 January 1870 in Göttingen.

What was Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein's occupation?

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein was a naturalist, zoologist, university teacher and herpetologist.

What nationality was Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein?

Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein's recorded nationality: Kingdom of Hanover.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein

· Wikidata: Q72243

· DBpedia: Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein. https://biography.guide/wilhelm-moritz-keferstein/

MLA: "Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wilhelm-moritz-keferstein/.

Chicago: "Wilhelm Moritz Keferstein." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wilhelm-moritz-keferstein/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:25 UTC