Christoph Gustav Ernst Ahl (1 September 1898 – 14 February 1945) was a German

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

, born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. He was the director of the department of ichthyology and herpetology in the

Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

. He was also the editor in chief of the review ''Das Aquarium'' from 1927 to 1934. During World War II, Ahl fought in the ranks of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

- in Poland, North Africa and later Yugoslavia. He was executed while in refuge in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, after the partisans found out he was a German. He performed one of the first studies on

bearded dragons ''Pogona'' is a genus of reptiles containing six lizard species which are often known by the common name bearded dragons. The name "bearded dragon" refers to the underside of the throat (or "beard") of the lizard, which can turn black and gain we ...

determining what genus they belong to. Ahl is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of lizards: ''

Anolis ahli ''Anolis ahli'', also known commonly as Ahl's anole and the Escambray blue-eyed anole, is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Cuba. www.reptile-database.com. Etymology The specific name, ''ahli'', is in hon ...

'' and ''Emoia ahli''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Ahl", p. 3). The latter is a synonym of '' Emoia battersbyi''.

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