Gerard Krefft

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Johann Ludwig Gerhard "Gerard" Krefft (also Johann Gerhard Louis Krefft ; born February 17, 1830 in Braunschweig , † February 19, 1881 in Woolloomooloo , Sydney ) was one of the first and most famous zoologists and paleontologists in Australia .

Gerard Krefft

Life

Gerard Krefft was born in Germany, went to the USA in 1850 and came to Australia in 1852.

He published over 150 scientific publications, including Snakes of Australia (1869), A Catalog of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum and A Short Guide to the Australian Fossil Remains in the Australian Museum (1870) and A Catalog of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum (1873).

Krefft's discovery of the Australian lungfish ( Neoceratodus forsteri , also known as Queensland Lungfish, Barramunda or Burnett Salmon ) and its first scientific description in 1870, as well as his exploration of the Wellington Caves in 1866 and the descriptions of the fossils found there are two of his most significant achievements .

From 1860 to 1861 Gerard Krefft was deputy curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney and later its curator and secretary from 1861 to 1874. Krefft built up the museum's collection and achieved international scientific renown. He corresponded with Charles Darwin , Sir Richard Owen and Albert Günther from the British Museum . He was an early proponent of Darwin's theory of evolution .

His great-nephew is the ichthyologist and herpetologist Gerhard Krefft (1912–1993).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ GND 1212275187 , accessed on June 19, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Krefft, Gerard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Krefft, Johann Ludwig Gerhard (full name); Krefft, Johann Gerhard Louis (ADB)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German zoologist and paleontologist in Australia
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1881
Place of death Woolloomooloo, Sydney