Ernst Ahl

Christoph Gustav Ernst Ahl (born September 1, 1898 in Berlin , † probably 1945 in Yugoslavia ) was a German zoologist , ichthyologist and herpetologist .

Life

Ahl was the son of the secret accountant Gustav Ahl and his wife Martha. In addition to Ernst, the two parents had another son. From the age of six Ernst Ahl visited the secondary school in Berlin-Lichtenberg and put the 1916 Notabitur , and by induction notice immediately drafted into military service and sent after a short training period to the front. Beyond the end of World War I , he served in the 3rd Guards Foot Artillery Regiment until early 1919. He was appointed vice sergeant and aspiring officer . He then studied natural sciences with a focus on zoology at the Berlin Friedrich Wilhelms University . On November 17, 1921, he was there with the thesis to knowledge of the bony fish family Chaetodontidae particular the subfamily Chaetodontinae doctorate .

From December 1, 1921 to January 31, 1923, Ahl was a scientific assistant in the herpetological and ichthyological department of the Zoological Museum at Berlin University. On February 1, 1923, he succeeded the retired herpetologist Gustav Tornier (1859-1938), with whom he was friends, his herpetological department as a volunteer assistant . With this custodial support for the department, a productive time begins, as, among other things, it is now being published again for the first time since the end of the First World War . Among many other things , he first described the Amazon fish Hemigrammus rhodostomus in 1924 , which was later named in his honor Ahl's red mouth tetra . On October 1, 1927, Ahl was appointed senior scientific assistant and in the same year until 1934 was editor-in-chief of the magazine Das Aquarium . After the seizure of power , as a member of the SA, he also became a member of the NSDAP . In addition, he was temporarily a member of the old gentlemen's association of the Neogermania fraternity . Since he remained owed membership fees and when the old gentlemen's association was transferred to the National Socialist Old Men’s Association (NSAHB) in 1938 , he was excluded. As a result, he came into conflict with the Nazi state several times. In a main trial he was also accused of "lack of interest towards the party" in 1938, but escaped with a reprimand. In the same year he was expelled from the "Reichsbund der Deutschen Beamten" and on March 3, 1939, from the NSDAP . The ultimate consequence of his “lack of interest” was his dismissal from museum service on March 31, 1941 and thus the end of his previous professional future.

Five days before the outbreak of World War II , on August 27, 1939 Ahl was convened . He took part in the attack on Poland as a sergeant in an artillery unit , was wounded and was taken to a hospital in Frankfurt (Oder) in November 1939 . After he recovered, he was assigned to the German Africa Corps in North Africa. After returning from North Africa, he was posted to Yugoslavia. There he was last active west of Nevesinje in Herzegovina as a member of the unit 10th / Army Coast Artillery Department 649. From February 14, 1945 he is considered "missing".

Two types of lizard bear his name: the Cuban anole ahli and the New Guinea emoia ahli .

Fonts (selection)

• Ichthyologische Mitteilungen I. A revision of the Characinid genus "Metynnis" . In: Communications from the Zoological Museum in Berlin 11, No. 1 (1923), pp. 15–31.
• Descriptions of three new catfish from Brazil . In: Zoologischer Anzeiger , 116, No. 3–4 (1936), pp. 109–11.
• Diagnoses of some new South American freshwater fish . In: Meeting reports of the Society of Friends of Natural Sciences in Berlin (1931), pp. 405–409.

literature

• Hans-Joachim Paepke: About the life and work of Ernst Ahl. in: Communications of the Zoological Museum Berlin. 1995, pp. 79-101.
• Hans-Joachim Paepke: Ernst Ahl (1898–1945), his life and its significance for herpetology and terrarium science . In: Secretary, contributions to the literature and history of herpetology and terrarium science 13, issue 2, 2013, pp. 15–46.

Remarks

1. ↑ perhaps as early as February 14, 1945 in Yugoslavia