Günther Edmund Maul (May 7, 1909 – September 28, 1997) was a German

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

and

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Maul came to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

in December 1930 to work as taxidermist at Museu Municipal do Funchal, which opened to the public in 1933. He was appointed director for the museum in 1940, a post that he held to his retirement in 1979. He, however, continued his research until shortly before his death. He started two journals (''Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal'' in 1945 and ''Bocagiana'' in 1959) and opened the museum's aquarium to the public in 1959. He also participated in several expeditions including with the French

bathyscaphe A bathyscaphe ( or ) is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design. The float is fi ...

Archimède The bathyscaphe ''Archimède'' is a deep diving research submersible of the French Navy. It used of hexane as the gasoline buoyancy of its float. It was designed by Pierre Willm and Georges Houot. In 1964, ''Archimède'' descended into "wh ...

'' in 1966 and organised the first multidisciplinary expedition to the Salvage Islands in 1963. He was awarded an honorary

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the

University of Madeira The University of Madeira (''UMa''; pt, Universidade da Madeira, ) is a Portuguese public university, created in 1988 in Funchal, Madeira. The university offers first, second cycle and Doctorate academic degrees in a wide range of fields, in acc ...

in 1995.

Works

He described several species of fish *'' Himantolophus albinares'' *'' Coryphaenoides thelestomus'' *'' Macruronus maderensis'' *''

Rouleina ''Rouleina'' is a genus of slickheads. The genus is named for the ichthyologist Louis Roule. Species There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * '' Rouleina attrita'' ( Vaillant, 1888) (Softskin smooth-head) * '' Rouleina danae'' ...

maderensis'' *''

Argyripnus atlanticus ''Argyripnus atlanticus'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Argyripnus''. The fish is found worldwide in the tropical waters of the Eastern Atlantic, from Madeira to south of the Canary Islands. In the Western Atlantic, in the Baham ...

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Günther Maul

Taxon named in his honor

Maul has at least three species and one genus of fish *'' Himantolophus mauli'' Bertelsen & Krefft, 1988 *'' Pollichthys mauli'' (

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

, 1953) *''

Maulisia ''Maulisia'' is a genus of tubeshoulders. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * ''Maulisia acuticeps'' Yuri Igorevich Sazonov, Sazonov, 1976 (Sharpsnout tubeshoulder) * ''Maulisia argipalla'' Tetsuo Matsui, Matsui ...

mauli'' Parr, 1960), *'' Mauligobius'' *one fossil owl ('' Otus mauli''): "Etymology: The new fossil owl species is named after Dr. honoris causa (1995) Günther Edmund Maul (7 May 1909 Frankfurt/M.– 28 Sept 1997 Funchal)..." *and one moth ('' Acrolepiopsis mauli'')Gaedike R., Karsholt O., 2001, Contribution to the Lepidoptera fauna of the Madeira Islands. Part 2. Tineidae, Acrolepiidae, Epermeniidae. ''Beiträge zur Entomologie'' 51: 163-213. named in his honour.

References

Biographical facts are taken from: Manuel José Biscoito
GÜNTHER EDMUND MAUL (Frankfurt, 1909 – Funchal, 1997)

External links

Museu de História Natural do Funchal
in Portuguese. German ichthyologists Portuguese zoologists 1909 births 1997 deaths 20th-century German zoologists Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Madeira-stub