Albert Carl Koch

Koch's sea ​​serpent

Albert Carl Koch (also Albert Karl Koch, born May 10, 1804 in Roitzsch ; † 1867 ) was a fossil researcher who was involved in the history of exploration of the Basilosaurus . Fossilized skeletal parts that he assembled and found in the USA have been exhibited in major cities around the world.

Work

Koch assembled finds from various individuals until a skeleton 34.75 meters long resulted. He called this giant animal Hydrarchos (later Hydrarchos harlani), in German about "water ruler". He showed it in 1845 as a large sea serpent ( reptile ) in the Apollo Saloon on Broadway in New York. Experts doubted the authenticity. In 1846 he showed the "sea snake" in Dresden, later in Leipzig and Berlin. But doubts about its authenticity also arose in Germany. In 1847 a four-person research team consisting of Carl Gustav Carus , Bruno Geinitz , Günther and Reichenbach was formed, which presented a study in Dresden and Leipzig in which the reptile theory was further advocated. In contrast, Hermann Burmeister sided with Richard Owens in Halle and saw a mammal in Zeuglodon, alias Hydrarchos . Further later discoveries corrected the physique and classification of Basilosaurus.

Koch also made a mishap with the mastodon, which he composed and named Missourium theristocaulodon , by inserting the tusks incorrectly.

Fonts

• Description of the Hydrarchos harlani: A gigantic fossil reptile: lately discovered by the author in the state of Alabama, March, 1845 . B. Owen, New York 1845.
• The giant animals of the primeval world or the newly discovered "Missourium Theristocaulodon" (sickle tooth from Missouri) etc. Verlag A. Duncker, 1845.

literature

• Johannes Albers: The history of exploration of the Basilosaurus
• Douglas E. Jones: Doctor Koch and his "Immense Antediluvian Monsters" .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A giant animal of the past . In: The Gazebo . Issue 29, 1856, pp. 392–393 ( full text [ Wikisource ]).