Felix Santschi

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Felix Santschi (born December 1, 1872 in Bex , † November 20, 1940 in Lausanne ) was a Swiss entomologist and doctor . His main research focus was ant research ( myrmecology ).

Life

Santschi was the son of the upholsterer Xavier Conrad Santschi and his wife Lydie, nee Reymond. His family initially lived in Menton on the Côte d'Azur . After an earthquake, she emigrated to Buenos Aires and then moved to Lausanne. From 1895 to 1897 Santschi was assistant for anatomy and auxiliary taxidermist at the University of Lausanne , where he also worked for Frédéric Édouard Bugnion . In 1896 he set out with Auguste Forel and Bugnion on research stays in Colombia and Venezuela , where they collected ants. With Bugnion's support, he completed a medical degree at the University of Lausanne from 1895 , which he completed in 1900. However, due to the failure to obtain the federal Matura , he was not allowed to practice. In 1901 he went to Tunisia , where he first settled in Tunis and was then the first foreign doctor to open a practice in Kairouan . The Tunisians gave him the name "Tabib-en-neml", which means "ant doctor". In 1902 he married Emma Sulger.

Santschi described around 2000 species and subspecies of ants. He was the first to examine the ants' orientation skills in the field. An experiment carried out in 1922 in Poggiolo, Corsica , showed that ants reached their destination when the sky was cloudless or even part of it was visible. He called this sidereal orientation (directed towards the sun). When the sky was completely darkened, they lost their bearings. In 1949 Karl von Frisch discovered the ability of bees to differentiate the degree of light polarization, which can also be transferred to Santschi's research with ants. Between 1906 and 1938 he published around 188 specialist articles and books. In 1940 he returned to Switzerland. Santschi was a member of the Swiss Entomological Society (SEG).

Honors and Dedication Names

In 1985 the University of Zurich established the Felix Santschi Foundation. According to Santschi, the species Amblyopone santschii (Menozzi, 1922), Brachymyrmex santschii Menozzi, 1927, Crematogaster santschii Forel, 1913, Dorymyrmex santschii Gallardo, 1917, Leptanilla santschii Wheeler & Wheeler, 1930, Minosia santschii , Monmasom ( 1921antschii, Monmasom ( 1905), Myopias santschii (cattle Meyer, 1914), Oligomyrmex santschii Weber, 1943 Opopaea santschii Brignoli, 1974 Oxyopomyrmex santschii Forel, 1904 Polyrhachis santschii man, in 1919, Pseudomicroides santschii (von Schulthess, 1925), Pseudomyrmex santschii (Enzmann, 1944 ), Solenopsis santschii Forel, 1905 and Talanites santschii Dalmas, 1918.

literature

  • Heinrich Kutter : Dr. Felix Santschi 1872-1940. Communications of the Swiss Entomological Society = Bulletin de la Société Entomologique Suisse = Journal of the Swiss Entomological Society, Volume 18, 1940–1943
  • Rüdiger Wehner : On the brink of introducing sensory ecology: Felix Santschi (1872-1940) - Tabib-en-Neml Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Volume 27 (4), 1990, pp. 295-306

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Felix Santschi: L'orientation sidérale des fourmis, et quelques considérations sur leurs différentes possibilités d'orientation. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 4, 1923, pp. 137-175
  2. ↑ Karl von Frisch : The polarization of the sky light as an orienting factor in the dances of the bees. Experientia 5, 1949, pp. 142-148
personal data
SURNAME Santschi, Felix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss entomologist
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Bex
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1940
Place of death Lausanne