Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, 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'' and '' Machairodus''. KaupClassification

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 and Heidelberg he spent two years at Leiden, where his attention was specially devoted to the amphibians 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 Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

's '' Origin of Species'' he declared himself against its doctrines. The extensive fossil 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 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. 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, 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.

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{{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

Biography

Mastodon fossil

See also

References

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