Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup is also known for having coined popular prehistoric taxa like '' Pterosauria'', '' Machairodus'', ''

Deinotherium ''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a mo ...

'', ''

Dorcatherium ''Dorcatherium'' is an extinct genus of tragulid ruminant which existed in Europe, East Africa and the Siwaliks during the Miocene and Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5 ...

'', and ''

Chalicotherium ''Chalicotherium'' (Ancient Greek /, -: pebble/gravel + /, diminutive of / : beast) is a genus of extinct odd-toed ungulates of the order Perissodactyla and family Chalicotheriidae. The genus is known from Europe and Asia, from the Middl ...

''.

Biography

He was born at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. After studying at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

he spent two years at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, where his attention was specially devoted to the

amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

ns and fishes. He then returned to Darmstadt as an assistant in the grand ducal museum, of which in 1840 he became inspector. In 1829 he published ''Skizze zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der europäischen Thierwelt'', in which he regarded the animal world as developed from lower to higher forms, from the amphibians through the birds to the beasts of prey; but subsequently he repudiated this work as a youthful indiscretion, and on the publication of Darwin's '' Origin of Species'' he declared himself against its doctrines. The extensive

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

deposits in the neighbourhood of Darmstadt gave him ample opportunities for palaeontological inquiries, and he gained considerable reputation by his ''Beiträge zur näheren Kenntniss der urweltlichen Säugethiere'' (1855–1862). He also wrote ''Classification der Säugethiere und Vögel'' (1844), and, with

Heinrich Georg Bronn Heinrich Georg Bronn (3 March 1800 – 5 July 1862) was a German geologist and paleontologist. He was the first to translate Charles Darwin's ''On the Origin of Species'' into German in 1860, although not without introducing his own interpretation ...

, ''Die Gavial-artigen Reste aus dem Lias'' (1842–1844). He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1862. He died at Darmstadt.

Mastodon fossil

A particularly important incident in the history of paleontology involves Kaup. In 1854 he bought the American mastodon found in 1799 in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

. This is the mastodon immortalized in Charles Willson Peale's painting of the 1801 excavation (painting executed between 1806 and 1808). This mastodon was on display for many years in Peale's Museum and is currently on display in

Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (HLMD) is a large multidisciplinary museum in Darmstadt, Germany. The museum exhibits Rembrandt, Beuys, a primeval horse and a mastodon under the slogan "The whole world under one roof". As one of the oldest pub ...

, Germany This mastodon is the first complete example found in the United States, and may be only the second fossil animal ever mounted for display.

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup

Taxon named in his honor

*''

Kaupichthys ''Kaupichthys'' is a genus of eels of the family Chlopsidae. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''Kaupichthys atronasus'' L. P. Schultz, 1953 (black-nostril false moray) * ''Kaupichthys brachychirus'' L. P. Schultz, ...

'' L. P. Schultz, 1943 is a genus of eels of the family

Chlopsidae The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from in length. Genera The family ...

The Etyfish Project
/ref> that was named after him. *''

Physiculus kaupi ''Physiculus'' is a genus of morid cods. Species The 42 currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''Physiculus andriashevi'' Shcherbachev, 1993 * '' Physiculus argyropastus'' Alcock, 1894 * '' Physiculus beckeri'' Shcherbachev, 1993 * ...

'' Poey, 1865 is a bathydemersal fish found in the Western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

References

Footnotes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaup, Johann Jakob German naturalists German taxonomists 1803 births 1873 deaths German ichthyologists German ornithologists German paleontologists Scientists from Darmstadt People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse 19th-century German zoologists