Richard Bott (zoologist)

Richard Bott (born April 25, 1902 in Frankfurt am Main ; † January 27, 1974 there ) was a German zoologist. His main research focus was carcinology, the study of crustaceans .

Life

After graduating from high school, Bott completed studies in biology and geology at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in 1921 . In 1928, he was under the direction of Otto to the streets with a dissertation on the whirligig beetles Gyrinus natator substriatus Dr. phil nat. PhD. Due to the difficult job situation in the natural sciences, Bott chose the teaching profession. After the state examination in 1930 he worked first as a school teacher in Krefeld and later in Frankfurt am Main. In order to pursue his scientific interests, Bott was released from school service during the summer months from 1936 to 1939 to work at the Naples Zoological Station . From 1940 to 1944 Bott was a teacher at the German School in Istanbul . This enabled him to study Turkey's freshwater crab fauna. In 1944 Bott received instructions to return to Germany, which meant the end of his scientific work for the time being. In 1947 Bott resumed school work, first in Geisenheim and finally in Frankfurt am Main until he retired in 1962. After the Second World War, Bott worked closely with the Senckenberg Museum . Here he began with the taxonomic treatment of the crayfish of Europe. In 1948 he became honorary curator of the carcinological department of the Senkenberg Museum, an office he held until his retirement.

Richard Bott's work was mainly concerned with studying the freshwater crabs of the earth and the crayfish of Europe. His goal was a compilation of all known freshwater crabs. In 1950 his revision of the crayfish of Europe appeared, in which he dealt with the colonization of rivers by marine crabs. In 1955 Bott published the monograph The Freshwater Crabs of Africa and Their Tribal History , which is based on a long-term study of the freshwater crab yield from Africa. The material includes extensive collections from the Senckenberg Museum as well as items on loan from other museums. Through this work, Bott became widely known as an expert on freshwater crabs. Soon afterwards he received further collections from all areas of the world, which enabled him to familiarize himself with the freshwater crab faunas of all continents. In 1969 his work appeared The Freshwater Crabs of South America and their Tribal History and 1970 The Freshwater Crabs of Europe, Asia, Australia and their Tribal History .

In September 1973 Bott fell ill with a serious heart condition, of which he died on January 27, 1974.

Dedication names

1968 named Michael Türkay the local crayfish -Art Ericerodes botti and 1975 named Raymond B. Manning the Fangschreckenkrebs -Art Gonodactylus botti in honor of Richard Bott.

literature

• Michael Türkay: Notes and News: Dr. Phil. Nat. Richard Bott (1902–1974). Life and Carcinological Work In: Crustaceana 28 (3), 1975, EJ Brill, Leiden