Nikolai Plavilshchikov

Born May 17 (29), 1892, in Moscow; died there Feb. 7, 1962. Soviet zoologist and professor. Doctor of biological sciences.

In 1917, Plavil’shchikov graduated from the natural-science department of the physics and mathematics department of Moscow University. From 1919 to 1921 and again from 1941 up to his death, he worked at the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University. Plavil’shchikov was a specialist on long-horned beetles (Cerambycidae), studying their taxonomy, zoogeography, and practical significance. He gathered a unique collection of the beetles, which contained more than 38,000 specimens. He described about 100 new species and subspecies and about 30 genera and subgenera. Plavil’shchikov wrote textbooks and methodological manuals on entomology, general biology, and the history of science.