Leopold von Schrenck

Leopold Ivanovich von Schrenck (1826 - January 8, 1894) was a Russo-German zoologist, geographer and ethnographer.

Schrenck was born and brought up near Chotenj , south-west of St Petersburg. He received his doctorate from the University of Tartu, and then studied natural science in Berlin and Königsberg.

In 1853 Schrenck was sent by the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences to explore the Amurland . He reached the mouth of the Amur in September 1854 with the botanist Carl Maximowicz. In February 1855 he visited Sakhalin and then explored the Amur in the spring and summer. In 1856 he returned overland to Europe, via Lake Baykal. He published his findings in his Reisen und Forschungen im Amur-Lande (1860).

In later years Schrenck turned his attention to the study of the native peoples of Russia, becoming director of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography.

A number of animals are named after Schrenck, including the Shrenck's Limpet Notoacmea schrenckii, the Amur Sturgeon Acipenser shrenckii, the Manchurian Black Water Snake Elaphe schrenckii and a butterfly Amuriana schrenckii.