Josef Hafellner (1951– ) is an Austrian

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as w ...

and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

. Hafellner started developing an interest in lichens while he was a student at this institution, studying under

Josef Poelt Josef Poelt was a botanist, bryologist and lichenologist. He held the chair in Systematic Botany and Plant Geography at the Free University of Berlin (1965 - 1972) and then was head of the Botanical Institute and Botanical Garden of Graz Universi ...

. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1975 and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1978, defending a

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

about the genus ''

Karschia ''Karschia'' is a genus of fungi in the class Dothideomycetes. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the class is unknown ('' incertae sedis''). The genus name of ''Karschia'' is in honour of Anton Ferdinand Franz Karsch (1822- ...

''. In 2003, Hafellner received his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

. By this time, he had studied with French lichenologist André Bellemère (1927–2014) at

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest to ...

, where he learned techniques of

transmission electron microscopy Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through a specimen to form an image. The specimen is most often an ultrathin section less than 100 nm thick or a suspension on a gr ...

and how their application in studying

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

could be used in lichen

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic t ...

. His 1984 work ''Studien in Richtung einer natürlicheren Gliederung der Sammelfamilien Lecanoraceae und Lecideaceae'' has been described as "probably the single most influential publication in lichen systematics in the latter half of the 20th century". His research interests include the

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

and

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of lichens and

lichenicolous fungi A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific ...

and lichen floristics of the eastern European Alps. He has made about 100,000 scientific collections of specimens, including about 8000 lichenicolous fungi. Hafellner has introduced more than 600 scientific names to science, and as of 2016, authored or co-authored 289

scientific publication : ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.'' Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, scien ...

Eponymy

Hafellner has been honoured by having several

taxa In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

named after him, including five genera: *'' Fellhanera'' *''

Fellhaneropsis ''Fellhaneropsis'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Pilocarpaceae. The genus is named in honour of Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner Josef Hafellner (1951– ) is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the ...

'' *''

Hafellia ''Hafellia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical regions, and contains five species. The genus is named in honour of Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner ...

'' *'' Hafellnera'' *'' Henfellra'' The following species are also named after Hafellner: '' Arthonia pepei'' ; '' Biatora hafellneri'' ; ''

Biatoropsis hafellneri ''Biatoropsis'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Bulleraceae. Species include: *'' Biatoropsis hafellneri'' *'' Biatoropsis millanesiana'' *'' Biatoropsis minuta'' *'' Biatoropsis protousneae'' *''Biatoropsis usnearum ''Biatorop ...

'' ; '' Caloplaca hafellneri'' ; ''

Capronia hafellneri ''Capronia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Herpotrichiellaceae. It has about 80 species. Species *''Capronia acutiseta'' *'' Capronia albimontana'' *''Capronia amylacea'' *''Capronia andina'' *'' Capronia apiculata'' *''Capronia arctica ...

'' ; ''

Capronia josefhafellneri ''Capronia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Herpotrichiellaceae. It has about 80 species. Species *''Capronia acutiseta'' *''Capronia albimontana'' *''Capronia amylacea'' *''Capronia andina'' *''Capronia apiculata'' *''Capronia arctica ...

'' ; '' Dactylospora hafellneriana'' ; ''

Enterographa fellhaneroides ''Enterographa'' is a genus of lichens in the family Roccellaceae. Species , Species Fungorum accepts 62 species of ''Enterographa''. *'' Enterographa albopunctata'' *'' Enterographa aldabrensis'' *'' Enterographa bagliettoae'' *'' Enter ...

'' ; '' Hypotrachyna hafellneri'' ; '' Malcolmiella fellhaneroides'' ; '' Megalaria hafellneriana'' ; '' Opegrapha hafellneri'' ; '' Phaeosporobolus fellhanerae'' ; '' Schismatomma hafellneri'' ; '' Stigmidium hafellneri'' ; '' Triblidium hafellneri'' ; '' Trichoconis hafellneri'' ; ''

Xanthoparmelia hafellneri ''Xanthoparmelia'' (commonly known as green rock shields or rock-shield lichens) is a genus of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ''Xanthoparmelia'' is ...

'' ; '' Xanthoria hafellneri'' .

Selected works

A complete listing of Hafellner's 289 scientific publications up to 2016 is given in Grube and colleagues' commemorative article. Hafellner's major works include the following: * * * *

References

Cited literature

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hafellner, Josef 1951 births Austrian lichenologists Austrian mycologists Acharius Medal recipients Austrian taxonomists University of Graz alumni Academics of the University of Graz 20th-century Austrian scientists 21st-century Austrian scientists Living people